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Federal Arbitration Act Litigation Procedure Blog Posts on Final Arbitration Awards

December 30th, 2014 Arbitration and Mediation FAQs, Arbitration Practice and Procedure, Awards, Confirmation of Awards, Functus Officio, Grounds for Vacatur, Judicial Review of Arbitration Awards, Loree & Loree Arbitration-Law Blogs, Nuts & Bolts, Nuts & Bolts: Arbitration, United States Supreme Court Comments Off on Federal Arbitration Act Litigation Procedure Blog Posts on Final Arbitration Awards

Back when we began posting in 2009 we published a “Nuts & Bolts”  series post about final arbitration awards, which you can read here. Interestingly, enough, that post, according to Google Analytics statistics, is one of the (if not the) most popular post we’ve ever published.

That may seem a bit strange, but it’s really not. Whether or not an arbitration award is a final arbitration award bears on a number of important issues, including whether the award can be confirmed, vacated, modified or corrected, and whether it is a decision that the arbitrators have the authority to revisit. And whether or not an arbitration award can be confirmed, vacated, modified or corrected before the conclusion of an ongoing arbitration proceeding has obvious time-bar consequences in light of the short limitation periods for confirming, vacating, modifying and correcting awards: to avoid forfeiture, it may be necessary to commence post-award Federal Arbitration Act enforcement proceedings before the arbitration proceeding has concluded. (See Loree Reins. & Arb. L. Forum posts here & here.)

Given the recent launch of  the Federal Arbitration Act Litigation Procedure Blog, and the need to start posting what we hope will be interesting and useful material, we decided to kick-off with the finality topic. Earlier today we published the first  segment of the series Federal Arbitration Act Finality: Is this Arbitration Decision a Final Award, An Interim Final Award, a Partial Award, a Partial Final Award or. . . What??, which you can read here.

That post outlines the topic and describes a hypothetical arbitration that gives rise to five types of awards and rulings, four of which are issued prior to the award that concludes the arbitration. Future posts  will discuss whether or not each type of award is, or may in some circumstances be, a final arbitration award for  purposes of Chapter 1 of the Federal Arbitration Act.

Another thing we’ll discuss will be the affect, if any, of Stolt-Nielsen, S.A. v. AnimalFeeds Int’l Corp., 559 U.S. 662 (2010) on the final award issue. Of all the many issues discussed in the Stolt-Nielsen case the one we hear relatively little commentary about is the Supreme Court’s rejection of the dissent’s argument that the class-arbitration consent award was not ripe for judicial review.  See 559 U.S. at 667 n.2. As part of the Federal Arbitration Act Litigation Procedure Blog final-award series, we’ll consider that aspect of the Supreme Court’s ruling and its relevance to the question whether a partial award can be a partial final award if the parties consent.

And unless we  somehow feel compelled  to publish yet another post this year, we’d like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy and prosperous New Year!

Philip J. Loree Jr.

 

New Arbitration Award Practice Blog Posts on Arbitrators Exceeding their Powers under the Federal Arbitration Act

December 27th, 2014 Arbitrability, Arbitration and Mediation FAQs, Arbitration as a Matter of Consent, Arbitration Practice and Procedure, Grounds for Vacatur, Loree & Loree Arbitration-Law Blogs, Small Business B-2-B Arbitration Comments Off on New Arbitration Award Practice Blog Posts on Arbitrators Exceeding their Powers under the Federal Arbitration Act

We’ve posted in the Arbitration Award Practice Blog the first two posts of a series concerning arbitrators exceeding their powers under  the Federal Arbitration Act in circumstances where they make awards against persons who are not parties to the pre-dispute arbitration agreement that precipitated the arbitration:

  1. Do Arbitrators Exceed their Powers by Imposing Liability on Corporate Officers who were not Parties to the Arbitration Agreement?
  2. Do Arbitrators Exceed their Powers by Imposing Liability on Corporate Officers who were not Parties to the Arbitration Agreement?—Part II

These posts are designed to illustrate to persons learning about arbitration law basics a point that more experienced practitioners know all-too-well: arbitration law can be counterintutive, and even its relatively straightforward general rules or principles do not apply to all factual scenarios.

For example, under the Federal Arbitration Act the answer to question posed by the articles: “it depends.” If a corporate officer participated in the arbitration solely as a party representative; nobody demanded, requested, argued or suggested that the corporate officer should have been deemed a party; and the corporate officer did not request in his individual capacity relief from the arbitration panel, then the arbitrators would be exceeding their powers were they to make an award against the corporate officer.

But as a general rule, arbitrators do not, on their own motion, award relief to or impose liability on persons who are not parties to the arbitration agreement. But see NCR Corp. v. Sac-Co., Inc., 43 F. 3d 1076,  1080 (6th Cir. 1995) (arbitrator ordered punitive damages to non-parties even though neither party requested such relief). While arbitrators occasionally do render awards granting relief to or against arbitration agreement nonsignatories, usually that occurs only when someone has requested such relief.

That’s what happened, for example, in Stone v. Theatrical Investment Corp., No. 14 Civ. 6494 (PAE), slip op. at 1, 8-9 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 2, 2014). Stone was a contract dispute between two parties A, a trust, represented by its trustee, and B, a corporation. A demanded arbitration against B under the contract’s pre-dispute arbitration agreement, but also demanded arbitration against B’s CEO, asserting that the arbitrator should pierce the corporate veil and hold the CEO jointly and severally liable for the corporation’s alleged breach of contract. The CEO participated in the arbitration as a party representative for B, but never informed the arbitrator that it objected to her jurisdiction to award relief to him. In addition, the CEO requested the arbitrator to grant him relief in his individual capacity.

Not surprisingly, the general rule did not apply in Stone, a point we discuss briefly in the second of the two Arbitration Award Practice Blog posts. In fact it seems odd that the CEO moved to  vacate the award against it on the ground that he did not agree to arbitrate the dispute. It suggests (but certainly does not establish) that perhaps the CEO thought he could make the argument he did despite the arbitration strategy he chose to purse. We do not know whether that is so, however, and there might be other reasons why the CEO opted to pursue that strategy.

Assuming that the CEO did not wish to arbitrate the veil-piercing claim there was much he could have done to ensure a judicial determination of that matter. And that’s something we’ll address in a future post in the Arbitration Award Practice Blog.

 

The Loree Law Firm Launches Federal Arbitration Act Litigation Website and Federal Arbitration Act Litigation Procedure Blog

December 22nd, 2014 Loree & Loree Arbitration-Law Blogs Comments Off on The Loree Law Firm Launches Federal Arbitration Act Litigation Website and Federal Arbitration Act Litigation Procedure Blog

This week Loree & Loree launched its Federal Arbitration Act Litigation Website and Federal Arbitration Act Litigation Procedure Blog. The website is designed to highlight the services Loree & Loree offers as respects representing individuals, businesspersons and business entities in Federal Arbitration Act litigation in federal and state courts as part of our arbitration and arbitration law practice. It also, however, sets forth some general information about arbitration law and the Federal Arbitration Act, which may be useful or at least of interest to persons who may never have a need to engage our services. And the blog of course, is designed to impart yet more general information of interest pertinent to Federal Arbitration Act litigation procedure.

Some Useful Information on the  Federal Arbitration Act

Here’s a list of Federal Arbitration Act Litigation Website pages that provide some information about Federal Arbitration Act litigation:

  1.  Arbitration Law and Why it’s so Important
  2.  The Federal Arbitration Act
  3.  Purposes and Objectives of the Federal Arbitration Act
  4.  Federal Arbitration Act Litigation

 

Readers may already know that Loree & Loree has, since the first half of 2009, a firm website, which can be accessed at http://www.loreelawfirm.com. It is the site to which this blog, the Loree Reinsurance and Arbitration Law  Forum,is attached, which is why the URL is http://www.loreelawfirm.com/blog.

Earlier this month we added the Arbitration Award Enforcement Practice Website to highlight the award enforcement services we provide clients as part of our arbitration and arbitration law practice, and, as part of  that site, launched the Arbitration Award Practice Blog, which we discussed in our last Forum post, here. Our new  Federal Arbitration Act Litigation Website, and its accompanying Federal Arbitration Act Litigation Procedure Blog serves similar purposes, but with a focus that is both broader and narrower than Arbitration Award Enforcement Practice Website and its Arbitration Award Practice Blog.

Federal Arbitration Act Litigation Website and Blog

Compared to Arbitration Award Enforcement Practice Website and Blog

The Federal Arbitration Act Litigation Website and the Federal Arbitration Act Litigation Procedure Blog are broader in the sense that they concern not only the indirect enforcement of arbitration agreements by enforcing awards (enforce means to give effect to, so vacating an award in whole or in part is as much a part of the enforcement process as confirming it), but also concerns the direct enforcement of arbitration agreements through petitions and applications to compel arbitration, stay litigation, appoint arbitrators and enforce arbitral subpoenas. They are also narrower in focus because they are principally directed at Federal Arbitration Act governed agreements and awards, rather than also including awards or agreements governed by Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act or by state arbitration law only.

The Federal Arbitration Act Litigation Procedure Blog is even narrower than its companion website because it is focused on the procedural aspects of Federal Arbitration Act litigation. We’ve discussed Federal Arbitration Act litigation procedure in this blog before, but it is one of those subjects that is not only critically important to anyone seeking relief under the Federal Arbitration Act in federal or state court, but one about which many lawyers seem to know very little. And that’s unfortunate because Federal Arbitration Act litigation has more than its fair share of procedural land mines.

Like the Arbitration Award Practice Blog, the Federal Arbitration Act Litigation Procedure Blog will use a “Nuts & Bolts” or “FAQs” format. Our goal is to publish plain-English articles addressing pertinent arbitration-law related topics. Generally, extensive background knowledge will not be presumed, although having at least some knowledge of litigation-procedure basics will certainly help readers to appreciate more fully some of the finer points raised. The goal is to publish articles that will appeal to an audience whose experience with arbitration and arbitration law covers a broad spectrum.

 

Enjoy!

 

The Loree Law Firm Launches Arbitration Award Enforcement Practice Website and Arbitration Award Practice Blog, which will focus on Federal Arbitration Act Arbitration Award Enforcement

December 17th, 2014 Awards, Loree & Loree Arbitration-Law Blogs Comments Off on The Loree Law Firm Launches Arbitration Award Enforcement Practice Website and Arbitration Award Practice Blog, which will focus on Federal Arbitration Act Arbitration Award Enforcement

Last week Loree & Loree launched its Arbitration Award Enforcement Practice Website, which is designed to highlight the award enforcement and challenge services we offer as part of our arbitration and arbitration law practice (referred to in our website as our Arbitration Law, Practice & Procedure practice, but what’s in a name?). As part and parcel of that, the website also provides what we hope will be some useful general information about the Federal Arbitration Act and proceedings to confirm, vacate, modify or correct arbitration awards.

We used a WordPress platform to create, and continue to use it to maintain, the site, and WordPress makes it pretty easy to make a blog part of the site, so we of course could not resist the opportunity to create a blog that is limited to the limited subject matter of the site itself: Federal Arbitration Act and state arbitration law award enforcement practice, a topic we’ve blogged a lot out about here at the Forum since 2009. The new blog is the Arbitration Award Practice Blog. Continue Reading »

One Per Occurrence Limit per Policy Period or One Per Occurrence Limit . . . Period? — New York Court of Appeals Reaffirms Noncumulation Clause Means what it Says  

December 2nd, 2014 Accumulation of Loss, Allocation, Allocation of Settlements, Anti-Stacking Provisions, Certificate or Treaty Limits, Claims Handling, Definition of Occurrence, Environmental Contamination Claims, Insurance Contracts, Insurance Coverage, Lead Paint Claims, New York Court of Appeals, New York State Courts, Noncumulation Clauses, Nuts & Bolts, Nuts & Bolts: Reinsurance, Reinsurance Allocation, Reinsurance Claims, Timing and Number of Occurrences, Trigger of Coverage Comments Off on One Per Occurrence Limit per Policy Period or One Per Occurrence Limit . . . Period? — New York Court of Appeals Reaffirms Noncumulation Clause Means what it Says  

Introduction

Liability insurance policies written on a per occurrence basis generally provide coverage for losses that occur during the policy period and arise out of an “occurrence.” In general (and subject to policy definitions) “occurrence” means not only a temporally discrete accident or event, but also “continuous exposure” to the same harmful conditions. Such “continuous exposure” may occur during more than one consecutive policy period and cause what is, for all intents and purposes, indivisible, continuing injury or property damage. Examples of that type of continuous exposure resulting in continuing injury or damage include, among others, exposure of tenants to cracked or peeling lead paint in an apartment building for a period of years, exposure of persons to asbestos products, or exposure of groundwater to hazardous waste over a period of years, resulting in liability for clean-up costs under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) (a/k/a “Superfund”).

Issues concerning the timing and number of occurrences, and per-policy allocation of loss, are particularly important in coverage cases where continuous exposure to conditions spans multiple policy periods and causes continuing, indivisible injury or property damage during those periods. The liability insurer’s indemnity obligation is limited to a specified limit per occurrence. In a continuous exposure case, the “occurrence” happens continuously over a period during which multiple consecutive policies are in effect.. There is one occurrence—sometimes referred to as a “continuing occurrence”—but it takes place during each of several consecutive policy periods. Does that mean that the insurer is obligated to pay a maximum of one per occurrence limit for all loss that occurs during its total coverage period, irrespective of how many policies it issued during that period, or must it pay up to one per occurrence limit per policy for whatever portion of the loss falls, or is deemed to fall, within that policy?

The answer to that question can have significant economic consequences for the liability insurer, and, of course, its reinsurers. If a liability insurer issues a landlord three, consecutive one-year-term policies with per occurrence limits of $X, and a tenant sustains injury attributable to continuous exposure to cracked or peeling lead paint, then, all else equal, the answer will determine whether the insurer’s maximum total indemnity obligation is $X or three-times that amount ($X multiplied by the number of policies involved).

Continue Reading »

Small Business B-2-B Arbitration Part III.A: Arbitration RIsks—Outcome Risk  

November 26th, 2014 Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration and Mediation FAQs, Arbitration Practice and Procedure, Arbitration Risks, Authority of Arbitrators, Awards, Bad Faith, Confirmation of Awards, Contract Interpretation, Dispute Risk - Frequency and Severity, Drafting Arbitration Agreements, Grounds for Vacatur, Judicial Review of Arbitration Awards, Making Decisions about Arbitration, Managing Dispute Risks, Nuts & Bolts, Nuts & Bolts: Arbitration, Outcome Risk, Practice and Procedure, Small and Medium-Sized Business Arbitration Risk Comments Off on Small Business B-2-B Arbitration Part III.A: Arbitration RIsks—Outcome Risk  

Arbitration Risks—Outcome Risk

Introduction

Our last segment of our B-2-B arbitration series (here) wrapped up discussion of the structural characteristics of arbitration agreements. Now that we’ve covered  the nature and purpose of arbitration, and the structure of arbitration agreements, let’s consider some of the risks an agreement to arbitration can pose to a small or medium-sized business.

For simplicity’s sake we’ll focus on five types of risk associated with agreeing to arbitrate disputes:

  1. “Outcome risk;”
  2. “Fail-Safe risk;”
  3. “Bleak House risk;”
  4. “Counterparty risk;” and
  5. “Integrity risk.”

These are not necessarily the only types of risk one assumes in arbitration, but they are among the more significant ones. There are ways to help hedge against these risks and perhaps even lessen the frequency and severity of their manifestation, but for present purposes, let’s briefly discuss each, starting with outcome risk. Continue Reading »

Pine Top Receivables, LLC v. Banco De Seguros Del Estado:  The Seventh Circuit Exorcises some Ghosts of Reinsurance Past, but has it Summoned an Erie Ghost of Reinsurance Future?

November 22nd, 2014 Appellate Jurisdiction, Appellate Practice, Arbitrability, Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration Practice and Procedure, Collateral Requirements for Unauthorized Reinsurance, Contract Interpretation, Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, FAA Chapter 3, Federal Courts, Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, Insolvency Proceedings, Inter-American Convention on International Commercial Arbitration, McCarran-Ferguson Act, New York Convention, Panama Convention, Pre-Answer Security, Reinsurance Arbitration, Reinsurance Claims, Reinsurance Litigation, Security Requirements, Unauthorized Reinsurance, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, United States Supreme Court Comments Off on Pine Top Receivables, LLC v. Banco De Seguros Del Estado:  The Seventh Circuit Exorcises some Ghosts of Reinsurance Past, but has it Summoned an Erie Ghost of Reinsurance Future?

Part II: What Transpired in Pine Top?

 

In our last post on  Pine Top Receivables, LLC v. Banco De Seguros Del Estado, ___ F.3d ___, Nos. 13-1364/2331, slip op. (7th Cir. Nov. 7, 2014) (per curiam) (here), we offered our take on the case and what it might mean, particularly as respects the Court’s suggestion that state pre-answer security statutes may be procedural under the Erie doctrine, possibly inconsistent with federal procedural law and thus inapplicable in diversity cases. Now let’s take a closer look at what transpired in Pine Top, for even apart from the Court’s allusion to a possible Erie doctrine issue (our Erie ghost of reinsurance future), it involved a number of classic reinsurance issues (our ghosts of reinsurance past), as well as a notable appellate jurisdiction issue and the question whether the assignee of the insolvent ceding company acquired the right to demand arbitration against the reinsurer.  Continue Reading »

Pine Top Receivables, LLC v. Banco De Seguros Del Estado: The Seventh Circuit Exorcises some Ghosts of Reinsurance Past, but has it Summoned an Erie Ghost of Reinsurance Future?    

November 19th, 2014 Appellate Jurisdiction, Appellate Practice, Arbitrability, Arbitration Practice and Procedure, Contract Interpretation, FAA Chapter 3, Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, Insolvency Proceedings, Inter-American Convention on International Commercial Arbitration, McCarran-Ferguson Act, Nuts & Bolts: Reinsurance, Panama Convention, Practice and Procedure, Pre-Answer Security, Reinsurance Litigation, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, United States Supreme Court Comments Off on Pine Top Receivables, LLC v. Banco De Seguros Del Estado: The Seventh Circuit Exorcises some Ghosts of Reinsurance Past, but has it Summoned an Erie Ghost of Reinsurance Future?    

In Pine Top Receivables, LLC v. Banco De Seguros Del Estado, ___ F.3d ___, Nos. 13-1364/2331, slip op. (7th Cir. Nov. 7, 2014) (per curiam) the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit addressed a trio of issues that—once upon a time at least—arose fairly frequently in reinsurance litigation: pre-answer security; immunity from posting security, courtesy of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (the “FSIA”), 28 U.S.C. § 1602-11 (2013); and the effect of the McCarran-Ferguson Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1011-­15 (2013), this time whether a state pre-answer security statute can reverse preempt the FSIA.

It did so in the somewhat unusual context of Chapter 3 of the Federal Arbitration Act, which implements the Inter-American Convention on International Commercial Arbitration (a/k/a the “Panama Convention”). That raised an arcane issue of appellate jurisdiction, which appears to have been caused by Congress failing to amend the appellate jurisdiction provisions of Chapter 1 (codified at 9 U.S.C. § 16 (2013)) to reflect Congress’ enactment of Chapter 3.

Throw in an assignment agreement between the insolvent cedent and a contract interpretation dispute over whether the cedent’s assignee purchased the right to compel arbitration under the reinsurance treaties between the insolvent cedent and the Uruguay-owned reinsurance company, and we have something that might appear to resemble a perfect storm of reinsurance and arbitration-related issues. Continue Reading »

What is the Statute of Limitations for a Reinsurance Claim under New York Law and When does it Begin to Run?

November 14th, 2014 New York Court of Appeals, Nuts & Bolts, Nuts & Bolts: Reinsurance, Practice and Procedure, Reinsurance Claims, Retrospectively-Rated Premium Contracts, Statute of Limitations Comments Off on What is the Statute of Limitations for a Reinsurance Claim under New York Law and When does it Begin to Run?

Part IV.C.2

 

Why Hahn Automotive v. American Zurich Ins. Co. is an Important Statute-of-Limitations Accrual Case (Cont’d)

Part IV.C.1 of our New York reinsurance-claim statute-of-limitations feature wrapped up our discussion about the likely influence of  Hahn Automotive Warehouse, Inc. v. American Zurich Ins. Co., 18 N.Y.3d 765 (2012) on statute-of-limitations accrual in cases where a demand for payment is an express condition of the obligor’s duty to perform.  That brings us to the fourth reason (of the seven enumerated in Part IV.B) why Hahn is an important statute-of-limitations accrual case, namely, that Hahn all but forecloses an argument that a court may justify a delay in the statute of limitations by deeming a demand requirement to be an implied condition. Continue Reading »

Small Business B-2-B Arbitration Part II.B.2(C): Other Structural Aspects of Pre-Dispute Arbitration Agreements—Who will the Arbitrators be?  

November 13th, 2014 Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration and Mediation FAQs, Arbitration as a Matter of Consent, Arbitration Practice and Procedure, Arbitrator Selection and Qualification Provisions, Drafting Arbitration Agreements, Making Decisions about Arbitration, Nuts & Bolts, Nuts & Bolts: Arbitration, Small Business B-2-B Arbitration, United States Supreme Court Comments Off on Small Business B-2-B Arbitration Part II.B.2(C): Other Structural Aspects of Pre-Dispute Arbitration Agreements—Who will the Arbitrators be?  

In Part II.B.2(A) we identified three key structural aspects of pre-dispute B-2-B arbitration, and discussed the first two in that and a subsequent post. This Part II.B.2(C) wraps up our discussion of arbitration-agreement structure by briefly examining a topic that is at least as important as the scope of the agreement: who the decision makers will be and how they will be selected.

As one renowned jurist put it, “selection of the decision maker by or with the consent of the parties is the cornerstone of the arbitral process.”[1] Arbitration allows the parties considerable input into the selection of who the decision makers will be, something that can make it a very attractive alternative to litigation for one or both of the parties. Parties who do not opt out of the court system are left with the luck of draw.

Savvy users of arbitration—and for that matter, most persons with dispute resolution experience in judicial or arbitral forums or both—know that decision makers, whether randomly assigned or selected, are not fungible commodities. Were they fungible, let alone commodities, there would likely be little or no controversy surrounding appointments to the United States Supreme Court.

But differences in judicial philosophy do not have to be based on so-called “liberal,” “moderate” or “conservative” views to be important, and perhaps even outcome-determinative. For example, the composition of a three-judge appellate panel can in many cases significantly influence the outcome of an appeal in many civil cases involving any number of legal and policy issues that are not the subject of discussion, let alone controversy, in the mainstream media.

Presumably many lawyers who argue appeals before three-judge panels (including the author) would scream “halleluiah!” had they the opportunity to select even one member of a three-judge appeals panel—or even if each party got to select one, leaving those two to select a third.

But time and time again, we see situations where parties who could have that opportunity—in the arbitration context, that is— had they negotiated it, or who could have at least participated meaningfully in the selection of one or more arbitrators had they exercised their contract rights with due diligence, end up having little if any meaningful input into the selection process. That type of lost opportunity usually redounds to their detriment, especially when their counterparts not only negotiate arbitrator selection provisions that suit their purposes, but also fully and wisely exercise their arbitrator selection rights. Continue Reading »

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