Within the vibrant and expansive world of live entertainment and ticketing, where the stage is set, the lights are lowered, and anticipation fills the air, a significant legal question has arisen that heralds a change to the future of consumer arbitration. This legal issue highlights the limitations of fairness and procedural protections in arbitration, as ever-evolving technology and innovation are reshaping our world. In this article, we seek to illustrate the various implications of this legal quandary, by considering its impact and consequences on the evolution of arbitration in the future ..read more

In a class action suit brought against Coinbase, a CryptoCurrency trading platform,  its consumers asserted that their accounts were mishandled, resulting in substantial financial losses due to the alleged fraudulent activities. Coinbase, in its defense, relied on the Coinbase user agreement, which contains an arbitration provision that compels arbitration for disputes arising under the agreement.1 When the federal District Court denied Coinbase’s motion to compel arbitration, the company brought an interlocutory appeal2 on the issue of arbitrability in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the N ..read more

This article was first published in the Arbitration Matters Blog, here. In Isagenix International LLC v. Harris, 2023 BCCA 96, Justice Griffin, for the British Columbia Court of Appeal, upheld an order dismissing the Appellant’s application made pursuant to section 8 of the International Commercial Arbitration Act, RSBC 1996, c 233 (the “ICCA”) for a stay of proceedings in favour of arbitration. In particular, she rejected the Appellant’s argument that the chambers justice had misapplied the principle of competence-competence by deciding the question about whether the underlying ..read more

In this episode of the Arbitration Conversation Amy interviews Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, who has represented Virginia’s third congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1993. Prior to his service in Congress, he served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1978 to 1983 and in the Senate of Virginia from 1983 to 1993. The post Arbitration Conversation No. 100: Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott of Virginia appeared first on Arbitrate.com ..read more

This article was first published on the Securities Arbitration Alert blog, here. The Supreme Court heard oral argument this week in Coinbase, Inc. v. Bielski, No. 22-105. As reported in SAAs 2023-11 (Mar. 16) and -07 (Feb. 16) the Supreme Court on March 21 heard the oral argument in Coinbase. It was the second case heard that morning. The audio is here and the transcript can be found here. Certiorari Petition As reported in SAA 2023-47 (Dec. 15), the Court’s December 9, 2022 Order List granted Certiorari in the case. The iss ..read more

In this episode of the Arbitration Conversation, Amy interviews Chris Poole Chief Executive Officer of JAMS, the largest provider of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services worldwide. Poole joined JAMS in 2007 and since that time has led the organization through an unprecedented period of growth, which also helped elevate the ADR industry as a whole. In his role as President and CEO, Poole works closely with senior management and the highly-trained panelists who own the company. Prior to joining JAMS, Poole was CEO at Thomson Elite, part of The Thomson Corporation. Poole was COO of Elite ..read more

This article was first published on the Securities Arbitration Alert blog, here. A U.S. Court of Appeals holds that the Supreme Court’s effective vindication exception to the enforcement of arbitration agreements applies to an arbitration agreement that prevents a defined compensation retirement plan participant from pursuing plan-wide remedies. Robert Harrison, a participant in a defined contribution retirement plan of his former employer formed under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), 29 U.S.C. §1101 et seq., sued the fiduciaries of the plan in fede ..read more

This article was first published in the Arbitration Matters Blog, here. In Vidéotron c. 9238-0831 Québec inc. (Caféier-Boustifo), 2023 QCCA 110, the Court of Appeal dismissed Vidéotron’s appeal and confirmed Justice Lussier’s first instance judgement dismissing Vidéotron’s request to limit the definition of the plaintiff group in a class action to only those customers whose contracts do not contain an arbitration clause. After the application for authorization was filed but before it was decided, Vidéotron amended its contracts with all new customers so that they contained an arbitration ..read more

This article was first published on the Securities Arbitration Alert blog, here. A divided Ninth Circuit Panel holds that California’s AB-51 is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”). Enacted in 2019, AB-51 is a law that restricts predispute arbitration clauses (“PDAA”) in employment relationships. It provides: “A person shall not, as a condition of employment, continued employment, or the receipt of any employment-related benefit, require any applicant for employment or any employee to waive any right, forum, or procedure for a violation of any provision of the California ..read more

In this episode of the Arbitration Conversation, Amy interviews Lela Porter Love, a professor of law and director of the Kukin Program for Conflict Resolution at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (NYC) and founder (in 1985) of Cardozo’s Mediation Clinic—one of the first clinical programs to train law students to serve as mediators. Love has served as mediator, arbitrator and dispute resolution consultant in community, employment, family, human rights, school-based and commercial cases. An active educator and participant in dispute resolution activities, she regularly conducts mediation trainin ..read more