With a new CEO at the helm of Mediate.com, after a generation of loyal and visionary service by co-founder Jim Melamed, the pre-eminent online resource for mediation has now launched an initiative to offer the pre-eminent online resource for arbitration. Launched last week, Arbitrate.com looks to be a winner. The...
The twisted course of arbitration jurisprudence in New Jersey has taken yet another peculiar detour. In the most recent development, it is hard not to infer a judicial bias against arbitration reminiscent of the 19th century. In Itzhakov v. Segal (A-2619-17T4, August 28, 2019), the mid-level Appellate Division reviewed the...
Prof. David Horton of the University of California, Davis, School of Law has posted a provocative article scheduled to be published by the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. Titled "Infinite Arbitration Clauses," it collects and comments upon purported arbitration "agreements" pursuant to which one party seeks to obligate another...
It's not often that an excellent court simply misconstrues -- or worse ignores -- relevant state statutes and superseding federal law. But the Superior Court Appellate Division of New Jersey seems to have done so. We assume that it was trying to protect employees claiming age discrimination. In fact, it...
Upon reconvening in October 2018, the Supreme Court will take up an interesting question involving the familiar rules of First Options v. Kaplan: Who is to decide whether a claim is subject to arbitration -- a court or the arbitrator? The peculiar facts giving rise to that concern in Archer...
The Supreme Court has granted certiorari to review the decision of the 1st Circuit in Oliveira v. New Prime, Inc. (No. 15-2364, May 12, 2017). One of the issues before the Court is particularly interesting: Whether a delegation clause vesting in an arbitrator questions of arbitrability of a claim has...
A recent Fourth Circuit decision, SIMPLY WIRELESS, INC, v. T-MOBILE US, INC, (No. 16-1123, December 13, 2017) is the third circuit decision holding that, as between sophisticated commercial parties, the designation of JAMS or AAA Commercial Arbitration Rules constitutes an enforceable delegation to the arbitrator of challenges to arbitrability. In this...