On September 22, 2021, the Suffolk County Superior Court held a contractor would be compelled to arbitrate a dispute with its electrical subcontractor. The decision shows that by taking action consistent with an agreement to arbitrate—in this case arguing the merits...
Strabag SE, a large international construction company based in Austria was awarded construction contracts for two major road projects in Libya in 2003. In 2006, after Libya began requiring foreign construction firms to carry out their contracts in conjunction with a...
Invoking a doctrine called “direct benefits estoppel,” on July 8, 2021, the Supreme Judicial Court forced the New England Patriots to arbitrate a dispute with charter aircraft company Team 125, Inc. Under direct benefits estoppel, a signatory to an arbitration...
In American Institute for Foreign Study, Inc. v. Fernandez-Jimenez, the First Circuit recently affirmed a preliminary injunction enjoining class arbitration because, while the agreement required the parties to arbitrate their disputes, it did not authorize class...
The recent Tenth Circuit case of Goldgroup Resources, Inc. v. DynaResource de Mexico, S.A. de C.V., 994 F.3d 1181 (10th Cir. 2021) helps to show why the selection of an arbitral seat can make a significant difference. The background to the case is a shareholder...
In Michael Hearn, et. al. v. Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reverses a recent decision from United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and ruled that a putative class action brought...
On December 7, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear oral argument in a case of particular relevance to employers who use arbitration to resolve disputes with employees. The case, Chamber of Commerce of the U.S. v. Becerra, considers whether states...
The First Circuit Court of Appeals recently found an agreement's arbitration clause unconscionable where one party was given almost unfettered control over the selection of the arbitrators. In Trout v. Organización Mundial de Boxeo, Inc., plaintiff Austin Trout...
The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit will be the next body to weigh in on a dispute between Del Monte International GmbH ("Del Monte") and Inversions y Procesadora Tropical INPROTSA, S.A. ("INPROTSA") over an exclusive sales agreement for pineapples. The case...
The Massachusetts Appeals Court has ruled that an arbitrator exceeds her authority only when "she awards relief beyond the scope of the arbitration agreement, beyond that to which the parties bound themselves, or enters an award prohibited by law." Conway v. CLC Bio,...
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