In Mancuso v. MDG USA Inc., the Third Circuit Court of Appeals considered defendant MDG’s appeal of an order denying its motion to compel arbitration of the plaintiff’s lawsuit alleging violations of state and federal fair credit laws. The plaintiff purchased a laptop computer from MDG and signed a financing agreement requiring monthly payments on his account. A dispute arose regarding the remaining balance on the account, and after the plaintiff directed his bank to stop payment on the monthly charges to the account, MDG reported the plaintiff to credit agencies. The plaintiff then filed a st ..read more

Dana Jennings and Joseph Furlong each bought a car from Carvana, a nationwide online used car dealer. On the day of their purchases, each signed three separate documents: a “retail purchasing agreement,” a “retail installment sales contract,” and an arbitration agreement. The purchasers filed a class action lawsuit against Carvana alleging that Carvana breached a contractual promise to properly license, title, and register their vehicles with Pennsylvania. Carvana moved to compel arbitration, but the district court denied the motion, finding that the arbitration agreements were not enforceable ..read more

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a district court’s decision to vacate and remand an arbitration decision in a case concerning companies’ withdrawal from a retirement fund. For many years, various companies made contributions on behalf of their employees to the IAM National Pension Fund. Several of those companies decided to withdraw from the fund, however. Pursuant to the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act (MPPAA), the employers had to pay fees associated with their withdrawal. The fees were calculated by an actuary. Under the MPPAA, employers who seek to challenge t ..read more

Under New Jersey’s Tenure Employees Hearing Law, when a school district files tenure charges against an employee, the state commissioner of education must refer the case to arbitration if he or she determines that the charges are “sufficient to warrant dismissal or reduction in salary of the person charged.” Amada Sanjuan, an assistant principal, was charged with “conduct unbecoming” after lying about the cause of a fall she had taken down a flight of stairs, which was caught on a security camera. The commissioner referred the case to arbitration, and, after a hearing, the arbitrator determine ..read more

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld a decision compelling arbitration based on an arbitration provision in website “terms of use,” even though those terms were in a hyperlink. In Patrick v. Running Warehouse LLC, a group of consumers brought six putative class actions against online sporting goods retailers after their personal information was exposed in a data breach. When purchasing goods from the defendants’ websites, they had to click a button that said “place order” or “submit order.” Next to that button was a statement that read: “By submitting your order you … agree to ou ..read more

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that a district court’s refusal to enjoin arbitration was immediately appealable because the arbitration agreement was governed by state law rather than the Federal Arbitration Act. The Second Circuit went on to clarify the standard for obtaining a preliminary injunction enjoining arbitration and remanded the case for a determination of whether that standard was met. The Resource Group International Ltd. (TRGI) and related entities and TRGI’s chairman and director, Muhammad Ziaullah Khan Chishti, entered into a preferred stock purchase agreemen ..read more

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed, sua sponte, a district court order that granted defendant Trina Solar (U.S.) Inc.’s motion to compel arbitration and stay the underlying case. The court did not address the facts of the case in its per curiam opinion, other than to note the dismissal and closure of the case would not impact the merits of the litigants’ claims. Without discussion, the court based its dismissal on 9 U.S.C. § 16(b)(1)–(3), and the precedent cited in its opinion confirming “[a]n appeal may not be taken from an interlocutory order that compels arbitration and stays ..read more

Harbor Homeowner’s Association Inc. sued its insurers in Louisiana state court seeking to recover damages allegedly caused by the insurers’ failure to pay claims related to Hurricane Ida. The insurers removed to federal court, arguing that the action related to an arbitration agreement falling under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) and the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York Convention), and filed a motion to compel arbitration. The plaintiff argued in response that arbitration provisions in surplus lines insurance contracts are not enforceable u ..read more

Noting the court was deciding, as a matter of first impression, “what a party must do to specifically challenge a delegation provision and what a court may consider when evaluating this challenge,” the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Bielski v. Coinbase Inc., reversed a district court order that denied defendant Coinbase’s motion to compel arbitration. Coinbase is an online cryptocurrency exchange. Plaintiff Abraham Bielski maintained an account, or “digital wallet,” with Coinbase that allowed him to store and transfer cryptocurrency in and out of his account. Before opening his account, Bi ..read more

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a district court decision denying defendant MicroBilt Corp.’s motion to compel arbitration, finding the plaintiff had fully complied with all provisions of her arbitration agreement with MicroBilt. In connection with a loan plaintiff Maria Del Rosario Hernandez applied for in 2020, the lender utilized a product offered by MicroBilt, referred to as an “instant bank verification report,” which allowed the lender to verify Hernandez’s identity and financial information. The verification report included information for other persons with the Hernande ..read more