main image

Archive for October, 2010

LinkedIn’s Commercial and Industry Arbitration and Mediation Group Surpasses the 1,000 Member Mark!

October 28th, 2010 ADR Social Media, Commercial and Industry Arbitration and Mediation Group Comments Off on LinkedIn’s Commercial and Industry Arbitration and Mediation Group Surpasses the 1,000 Member Mark!

As regular readers know, we own and co-manage with Don Philbin, Jr., Karl Bayer, and Robert Bear LinkedIn‘s Commercial and Industry Arbitration and Mediation Group.  The group actively discusses issues pertaining to domestic and international ADR, and features a distinguished and diverse membership of arbitrators, mediators, business people, attorneys, law professors, students, and other persons interested in ADR.  Our members hail not only from the United States, but many other countries as well. 

The group, which was formed in May 2009, is now 1,008 members strong and is growing by the week.  Many different industries are represented, including the insurance and reinsurance industry.  The group enables members to share information; discuss and debate issues; directly access numerous excellent ADR-related blogs; and network with others in the domestic and international ADR community. 

The group welcomes new members, and encourages (but does not require) active participation.  The only requirement for membership is a bona fide interest in ADR.  The group is not a forum for, and does not permit, advertising or blatant self-promotion, so our members need not be concerned about being subject to sales pitches and the like. 

If you are already a member of LinkedIn, please click here to apply for membership in the group.  If you are not a LinkedIn member, click here, and you will be guided through the process of creating a profile (which does not need to be completed in one step).  Once your profile is started, and you have a user name and password, you can apply for membership in the group (which entails no more than clicking on a button).  Joining LinkedIn is free, as is joining the group. 

We hope you’ll join up!

U.S. Law Week Quotes Philip J. Loree Jr. Comments on SCOTUS AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion Class Waiver Case

October 23rd, 2010 Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration Practice and Procedure, Class Action Arbitration, Class Action Waivers, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, United States Supreme Court Comments Off on U.S. Law Week Quotes Philip J. Loree Jr. Comments on SCOTUS AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion Class Waiver Case

On October 14, 2010 I was interviewed by Tom P. Taylor, a reporter for The United States Law Week, about the AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion case (blogged here, here, here and here), which will be argued before the United States Supreme Court on November 9, 2010.  On October 19, 2010 Tom’s excellent article on AT&T Mobility was published in 79 U.S.L.W., No. 14 (October 19, 2010) (BNA), and he extensively quoted my comments in it.   

U.S. Law Week is a subscription only publication, but I received permission from the Bureau of National Affairs (“BNA”) to post a copy of the article on my LinkedIn profile.  So, if you are a member of Linkedin, you can access a copy of the article here (it does not appear in my “public” LinkedIn profile).

We would like to thank Tom for conducting a very professional interview and following up with a well-written, comprehensive and informative article about this critically important case.

We are following AT&T Mobility closely, and will be commenting further on it in the near future.  I am also working on a guest-post about the case for another ADR-oriented blog.  Stay tuned for details….

International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution Publishes Philip J. Loree Jr.’s October 2010 Article on Granite Rock Co. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters

October 7th, 2010 Uncategorized Comments Off on International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution Publishes Philip J. Loree Jr.’s October 2010 Article on Granite Rock Co. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters

The October 2010 issue of Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation, the excellent newsletter of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (”CPR”), featured an article I wrote on the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Granite Rock Co. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, No. 08–1214 (June 24, 2010).  The article is entitled “Despite Granite Rock’s Procedural Dodge, Court Issues A Straightforward Decision on Bargaining Agreements,” 28 Alternatives 175 (October 2010).   

The article discusses Granite Rock in detail, and argues, among other things, that:

the Court deliberately dodged consideration of an important factor in the case — a signed contract that potentially could have answered the question — by reflexively applying a procedural rule that forced the court to put the fact aside, instead of remanding for proper consideration.

.  .  .  . 

The tradeoff the Court made when it elevated institutional concerns over deciding a case based on its undisputed facts was not a fair one.  While the Court pointed out that consideration of the belatedly raised argument would have resulted in the Court ruling for the first time on an issue not considered by the Ninth Circuit, and perhaps not one fully briefed, that justification presupposes that consideration of the retroactive CBA would have required intensive analysis of a controversial issue.

But there was no real controversy here.  The plain terms of a fully executed contract clearly and unambiguously contravened the key assumption on which the majority opinion rested:  that there was a formation-date dispute. 

28 Alternatives at 175 & 178.  

The article is the second of a two-part series.  The first part discussed and critically analyzed the Supreme Court’s decision in Rent-A-Center, West Inc. v. Jackson, No. 09-497 (June 21, 2010).  That part was entitled “Rent-A-Center‘s Roadmap Extends Beyond Contracts.  .  .  To Congress and the Supreme Court’s New Term,” 28 Alternatives 154 (September 2010) (blogged here). 

Alternatives also recently published two other articles I wrote earlier this year, both of which were featured as cover stories:  “Stolt-Nielsen Delivers a New FAA Rule — And then Federalizes the Law of Contracts,” 28 Alternatives 121 (June 2010), and “It’s Time for Doctrines:  The Supreme Court Wrestles with ‘Severablility’ and the ‘Clear and Unmistakable Standard,” 28 Alternatives 73 (March 2010) (blogged here and here).

Alternatives is a subscription-only publication. Subscription information is available at this page, as well as at the publisher’s, John Wiley & Sons’s, website here.

I would like once again to take this opportunity to thank CPR, and Russ Bleemer, Editor of Alternatives, for their kind assistance and support in featuring my articles.   CPR is one of the most prestigious ADR organizations in the United States, and, as I have said before, Russ is a very intelligent, dedicated and professional editor with whom it is a pleasure to work.