main image

Archive for the ‘United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit’ Category

United States Supreme Court Update: Union Pacific and Granite Rock Labor Arbitration Cases

October 11th, 2009 Authority of Arbitrators, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, United States Supreme Court, labor arbitration 1 Comment »

Introduction

So far the United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear only one arbitration case governed by the Federal Arbitration Act:  Stolt-Nielsen, S.A. v. AnimalFeeds Int’l Corp., 548 F.3d 85 (2d Cir. 2009), petition for cert. granted June 15, 2009 (No. 08-1198), which has been set for oral argument at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, December 9, 2009.   (See Russ Kunkel’s LawMemo Arbitration Blog  here.)  We have written extensively on Stolt-Nielsen, which concerns whether class arbitration may be imposed on parties whose contracts are silent on that point.  (Posts available here,  here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.)

The Supreme Court has also agreed to hear two labor arbitration cases.  The first is Union Pacific Railroad Co. v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen (08-604), which is governed by the the Railway Labor Act (“RLA”), 45 U.S.C. §§151 et seq.  The RLA, among other things, requires arbitration before the National Railroad Adjustment Board (“the Board”) of labor disputes involving railway workers.  Union Pacific, for all practical purposes, is therefore not a contractual arbitration case, but an administrative law one, and the outcome will likely have  little or no effect on Federal Arbitration Act jurisprudence.  The Court held oral argument on October 7, 2009.  (Oral argument Tr. here) 

The second is Granite Rock Co. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters (08-1214), which arises under Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act.  The Court is expected to set argument for later this Fall.  (See Russ Kunkel’s LawMemo Employment Law Blog here.)   Though not governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, Granite Rock, unlike Union Pacific, is a contractual arbitration case.  And the outcome may be relevant to cases falling under the Federal Arbitration Act. 

We briefly summarize below the issues the Court will presumably address in these labor arbitration cases and discuss why Granite Rock may be more controversial than it appears at first blush.    Continue Reading »

Seventh Circuit Says Panel did not Exceed its Powers by Appointing a Replacement Arbitrator in a Manner not Specified in the Parties’ Agreement: WellPoint, Inc. v. John Hancock Life Ins. Co.

September 9th, 2009 Authority of Arbitrators, Awards, Grounds for Vacatur, Reinsurance Arbitration, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit No Comments »

The Seventh Circuit recently decided an important case concerning what happens when Party A asks its party-appointed arbitrator to resign, the agreement is silent on how the vacancy should be filled, the remaining two arbitrators devise and implement a procedure for appointing a replacement, Party B (whose arbitrator did not resign) reserves its right to challenge the replacement procedure, and the Panel ultimately renders an award in favor of Party A.  The Court held that the Panel did not exceed its powers by adopting and implementing — in the face of the agreement’s silence, and in the absence of Party B seeking court intervention under Federal Arbitration Act Section 5 – a procedure that allowed Party A to replace its party-appointed arbitrator and continue with the arbitration.  See WellPoint, Inc. v. John Hancock Life Ins. Co., ___ F.3d ___, slip op. (7th Cir.  August 7, 2009) (Slip op. here).  Continue Reading »