Its first attempt having been stricken by the Third Circuit, the Delaware General Assembly recently enacted the Delaware Rapid Arbitration Act that seems ideally suited to a broad range of business disputes, and is a welcome contribution to rational, reasonable and responsive arbitration law. Among its features, the Act requires that...
Tag Archives: Courts
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a writ of mandamus directing a district court to vacate an order disqualifying an arbitrator, while the arbitration was pending. Its succinct opinion in In re Sussex (No. 14-70158, January 27, 2015) serves as a clear lesson in the limitations of judicial...
As recently as 1995, the Supreme Court observed, in First Options of Chicago v. Kaplan, that arbitration was a creature of contract: "[A] party who has not agreed to arbitrate will normally have a right to a court's decision about the merits of its dispute." Yet what constitutes an agreement to...
The Ninth Circuit, and California courts in particular, have been very strict in maintaining the confidentiality and inadmissibility of statements made during mediation. Two recent cases have allowed such statements to be admitted, on interesting grounds. An Arizona District Court decision allowing mediation statements was affirmed by the Ninth Circuit...
The Unified Court System of the State of New York is considering a modification to its Rules that would require attorneys to include in their letters of engagement reference to the ADR options and resources available at the courts' web site. The proposal (available here) is subject to public comment until...
Prof. Stacie Strong of the University of Missouri sends this notice: As some of you may know, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) has been holding its forty-seventh session in New York these last two weeks. During the meeting, the U.S. Department of State presented a proposal (click...
Deborah Masucci, Chair of the International Mediation Institute, has sent around a forceful message asking the international mediation community to support initiatives to ensure that agreements reached during mediation have the status of enforceable contracts, in all jurisdictions around the world. The initiative resembles the effort 60 years ago to make...