Posts Tagged ‘Federal Arbitration Act’

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Arbitration Nuts & Bolts: Vacating Arbitration Awards — It’s All in the Agreement

December 8th, 2009 Awards, Grounds for Vacatur, Nuts & Bolts, Nuts & Bolts: Arbitration, Practice and Procedure, Reinsurance Arbitration 2 Comments »

Part I:  Introduction

An arbitration award is effectively a contract resulting from a contract.  Two parties agree to appoint arbitrators, submit their dispute to arbitration and abide by the award.  The parties ordinarily consent to entry of judgment on the award, and it can be confirmed under Section 9 of the Federal Arbitration Act (or a state law equivalent when the Federal Arbitration Act doesn’t apply).  Alternatively it may be enforced through the plenary and summary  procedures applicable to ordinary contracts (subject to any special rules governing arbitration awards).  

So what happens when things go awry — or at least seem to have gone awry — and the arbitration award is or appears to be fundamentally unfair, divorced from the contract or the result of fraud, bias, or some form of prejudicial misconduct on the part of the arbitrators?  Section 10 of the Federal Arbitration Act provides a safety net in the form of a motion or petition  to vacate the award.  (State arbitration statutes and law applicable in actions to enforce arbitration awards generally provide similar recourse, but our focus here is on the Federal Arbitration Act.) Continue Reading »

Holman Fenwick Willan and The Loree Law Firm Give London Talk on U.S. Versus English Arbitration Law

December 7th, 2009 Association of Insurance and Reinsurance Run-Off Companies (AIRROC), English Law, Events, London Market, Practice and Procedure, Reinsurance Arbitration Comments Off on Holman Fenwick Willan and The Loree Law Firm Give London Talk on U.S. Versus English Arbitration Law

On December 1, 2009 my friend and colleague Costas Frangeskides , a partner at Holman Fenwick Willan (“HFW” or “Holmans”), and I gave a presentation at HFW’s London offices entitled “Reinsurance Arbitration:  Approaching Things Differently Either Side of the ‘Pond.'”   The program was moderated by Holmans partner Andrew Bandurka, who, like Costas, focuses his practice on reinsurance and insurance dispute resolution.  I have known Costas and Andrew for several years as we were co-counsel in a long-running matter handled by Holmans and my former law firm, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP. 

The presentation was designed to provide reinsurance professionals with some insights concerning the differences between U.S. and English reinsurance arbitration practice and procedure.  The principal theme was that U.S. arbitration law is designed principally to enforce the parties’ arbitration agreement as written, placing it on the same footing as all other contracts, while English arbitration law favors party automony, but also imposes a greater number of policy-based norms regulating arbitration, which limit to some extent the parties’ ability to structure their dispute resolution procedure exactly as they see fit. Continue Reading »

Global Arbitration Review Publishes Article on Hansen v. Everlast and Quotes Philip J. Loree Jr.

November 3rd, 2009 Arbitrability, Authority of Arbitrators, Awards, Functus Officio, New York Court of Appeals, Nuts & Bolts: Arbitration, Uncategorized, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Comments Off on Global Arbitration Review Publishes Article on Hansen v. Everlast and Quotes Philip J. Loree Jr.

Readers may recall our recent post on the New York Court of Appeals’ decision in Re Joan Hansen & Co v. Everlast World’s Boxing Headquarters Corp., ___ N.Y.3d ___, slip op. (Oct. 15, 2009), a case which demonstrates how important the parties’ submission is in determining arbitral authority.  The Court held that, after an award, a party cannot reopen an arbitration proceeding to request that the arbitrators decide an issue that had not previously been submitted to the arbitrators.  A copy of our post is here.  

On November 2, 2009 Kyriaki Karadelis of the U.K.-based trade publication Global Arbitration Review (“GAR”)  (website here) wrote what I thought was a concise and insightful article on the case.  And we would have said that even if she had not quoted some of our comments in her article!  But she did, and we’re flattered by that. 

With Global Arbitration Review’s permission, and with the required copyright disclaimer, we have posted the article as a “Slide Share Presentation” in my LinkedIn profile, which you can view by clicking here.  Also posted there (again with GAR’s permission and the required disclaimer) is a Global Arbitration Review Article on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit’s decision in  ReliaStar Life Ins. Co. v. EMC National Life Co., ___ F.3d ___, ___ (2009) (Raggi, J.) (blogged here and here), in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that an arbitration panel was authorized to award under the bad faith exception to the American Rule attorney and arbitrator fees to a ceding company in a case where the parties had agreed that “[e]ach party shall bear the expense of its own arbitrator.  .  .  and related outside attorneys’ fees, and shall jointly and equally bear with the other party the expenses of the third arbitrator.”  We reported on GAR’s article concerning ReliaStar case here, which also quotes some of our comments on that case. 

We ask our readership to remember that GAR is a subscription-only publication and that it has copyrights in these posted materials.  GAR has authorized us to post them online and distribute them for marketing purposes, but that authorization does not extend to others not similarly situated.  Please do the right thing and respect GAR’s copyrights — GAR has to make a living just like the rest of us!     

Arbitration Nuts & Bolts: New York Court of Appeals Says the Submission Defines the Scope of the Panel’s Authority

October 26th, 2009 Arbitrability, Authority of Arbitrators, Functus Officio, New York Court of Appeals, Nuts & Bolts, Nuts & Bolts: Arbitration, Reinsurance Arbitration, Reinsurance Claims 2 Comments »

On October 15, 2009 The New York Court of Appeals decided Re Joan Hansen & Co v. Everlast World’s Boxing Headquarters Corp., ___ N.Y.3d ___, slip op. (Oct. 15, 2009) (here), a case which demonstrates how important the parties’ submission is in determining arbitral authority. The Court held that, after an award, a party cannot reopen an arbitration proceeding to request that the arbitrators decide an issue that had not previously been submitted to the arbitrators.

The power of arbitrators appointed to resolve a particular dispute or disputes is defined by the submission, not the arbitration agreement. The scope of the agreement to arbitrate tells us only what must be submitted to arbitration. It is the submission itself that “serves not only to define, but to circumscribe the authority of the arbitrators.” Ottley v. Schwartzberg, 819 F.2d 373, 376 (2d Cir. 1987) (here).   

As the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit explained, a predispute arbitration agreement generally is “not self-executing” — “[b]efore arbitration can … proceed, it is necessary for the parties to supplement the agreement to arbitrate by defining the issue to be submitted to the arbitrator and by explicitly giving him the authority to act.”  Piggly Wiggly Operators’ Warehouse Inc v. Piggly Wiggly Operators’ Warehouse Independent Truck Drivers Union, 611 F2d 580 (5th Cir. 1980) (here).  The disputes presented to the panel for resolution without objection constitute the submission, which may be embodied in a formal submission agreement or determined from the arbitration demand in conjunction with the arguments and contentions made by the parties during the proceeding. Continue Reading »

The Burlage Controversy: Did the Court Usurp Arbitral Power or did the Arbitrator Prejudice the Defendant by Excluding Evidence Material to the Controversy?

October 15th, 2009 Awards, California State Courts, Procedural Misconduct 3 Comments »

 Introduction

Section 10(a)(3) of the Federal Arbitration Act authorizes courts to vacate awards “where the arbitrators were guilty of misconduct.  .  . in refusing to hear evidence pertinent and material to the controversy, or of any other misbehavior by which the rights of any party have been prejudiced.”  California’s arbitration statute says courts “shall” vacate an award where a party’s rights “were substantially prejudiced . . . by the refusal of the arbitrators to hear evidence material to the controversy . . . .”  Cal. Civ. Code § 1286.2(a)(5) (here). 

On August 31, 2009 the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District decided Burlage v. Superior Court of Ventura Cty., ___ Cal. App. 4th ___, slip op. (Cal. App. 2d Dist. Aug. 31, 2009), petition for rehearing granted.  (A copy of the opinion is here.)  At the time we viewed Burlage as an excellent and relatively easy to understand example of how courts should – and do – deal with those relatively rare situations where a party is prejudiced by an arbitrator refusing to hear evidence material to the controversy, whether under the Federal Arbitration Act Section 10(a)(3) or a state law equivalent like California Civil Code Section 1286.2(a)(5).  While we still believe that the court correctly affirmed the trial court decision vacating the arbitration award, the decision has proved to be more controversial than we initially suspected it would be.   Continue Reading »

Jackson v. Rent-A-Center West, Inc.: Who Gets to Decide Whether an Arbitration Agreement is Unconscionable when the Parties Clearly and Unmistakably Say the Arbitrators Decide Arbitrability?

September 23rd, 2009 Arbitrability, Unconscionability, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 4 Comments »

I.            Introduction

We have explained in prior posts the First Options/AT&T Technologies rule that arbitrators get to decide arbitrability when the parties clearly and unmistakably so agree.  (See, e.g., here and here.)  That’s all well and good, but what happens when:  (a)  two parties sign an arbitration agreement which says, among other things, that the arbitrators shall decide any claim, including any claim concerning the applicability, formation or enforceability of the arbitration agreement; and (b) despite that clear and unmistakable agreement to arbitrate arbitrability, one of the parties challenges the arbitration agreement in court on unconscionability grounds?      

That is, for all practical purposes, what happened in Jackson v. Rent-A-Center West, Inc., ___ F.3d ___, slip op. (9th Cir. Sept. 9, 2009) (here).  And the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled 2-1 that the court gets to decide the question.  Continue Reading »

Disputing Publishes Part IVB of our Stolt-Nielsen, S.A. v. AnimalFeeds Int’l Corp. Guest Post

September 21st, 2009 Arbitrability, Authority of Arbitrators, Class Action Arbitration, Class Action Waivers, Consolidation of Arbitration Proceedings, Guest Posts, Practice and Procedure, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, United States Supreme Court 1 Comment »

On September 1, 2009 Disputing published Part IVA of our four-part guest post on 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).  In Part IVA  (here) we considered whether the question in Stolt-Nielsen  was one for the court or the arbitrators to decide, and predicted that at least five Justices of the United States Supreme Court will hold that the court must decide it.  If we are correct, then the Supreme Court will consider on a de novo basis whether the arbitration panel had the authority to impose class arbitration on the Stolt-Nielsen parties. 

Today, Disputing published Part IVB of our guest post (here) in which we consider how the Supreme Court might rule on the merits of the question.  We believe that at least five Justices will rule that the arbitrators should not, in the face of the agreements’ silence, have imposed class arbitration where, as here, there is no basis in the Federal Arbitration Act, New York state law or federal maritime law for implying consent to class arbitration.    

The Supreme Court’s decision in Stolt-Nielsen may have some important ramifications for both commercial and consumer arbitration.  So for advance coverage, tune into Disputing….

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 Comments Off on 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.

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 »

Disputing has Published Part IVA of Our Stolt-Nielsen v. AnimalFeeds Guest Post

September 1st, 2009 Arbitrability, Authority of Arbitrators, Class Action Arbitration, Consolidation of Arbitration Proceedings, Guest Posts, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, United States Supreme Court 4 Comments »

On August 17, 2009 Disputing published Part III of our four-part guest post on 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) (Part III available here).  In Part III we examined the background of Stolt-Nielsen and identified four issues that the United States Supreme Court will likely confront when it decides the case. 

Today Disputing published Part IVA (here), in which we consider the first issue:  Who decides whether class arbitration can be imposed on the parties when their arbitration agreements are silent on that point?  Put differently, is the question one of arbitrability for the court or one of procedural arbitrability or contract interpretation for the arbitrators?    

Resolution of the question defines the standard of review.  Questions of arbitrability are reviewed de novo on the law and for clear error on the facts.  But if the question is one of procedural arbitrability or contract interpretation, the standard is the deferential one provided by Federal Arbitration Act Section 10, the one applied by both the District Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. 

The arbitrators in Stolt-Nielsen decided that class arbitration was authorized by the parties’ arbitration agreements even though the agreements said nothing about class arbitration.  We believe that at least five Justices will conclude that this question was one of arbitrability for the Court to decide, and will either decide the issue de novo or remand it to the lower courts to decide. 

The Supreme Court’s decision in Stolt-Nielsen may have some important ramifications for both commercial and consumer arbitration.  So for advance coverage, tune into Disputing….

Disputing has Published Part III of our Stolt-Nielsen, S.A. v. AnimalFeeds Int’l Corp. Guest Post

August 17th, 2009 Arbitrability, Authority of Arbitrators, Class Action Arbitration, Consolidation of Arbitration Proceedings, Guest Posts, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, United States Supreme Court Comments Off on Disputing has Published Part III of our Stolt-Nielsen, S.A. v. AnimalFeeds Int’l Corp. Guest Post

Last week we announced that  Disputing had published Part II of our four-part guest post on 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) (Disputing post here).  Today, Disputing published Part III, which discusses the background and procedural history of the Stolt-Nielsen case and identifies the key issues that the United States Supreme Court will likely consider in deciding the case.  

The Supreme Court’s decision in Stolt-Nielsen may have some important ramifications for both commercial and consumer arbitration.  And soon-to-be Justice Sotomayor may provide the swing vote in the case.  So for advance coverage, tune into Disputing….

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