Linda S. Mullenix, Morris & Rita Atlas Chair in Advocacy at the University of Texas School of Law, has written “Class Action Waivers in Arbitration Agreements: The Twenty-First Century Arbitration Battleground and Implications for the EU Countries,” Forthcoming, 38 Emory Int’l L. Rev. (Spring 2024).  In her forthcoming scholarly article, Professor Mullenix analyzes United States Supreme Court jurisprudence related to class action waivers included in arbitration agreements and provides observations about collective action procedures in the European Union. The abstract states: Without ..read more

Professor Amy J. Schmitz, John Deaver Drinko-Baker & Hostetler Chair in Law and Co-Director of the Translational Data Analytics Institute Responsible Data Science CoP at The Ohio State University’s Michael E. Moritz College of Law, has published a draft book chapter titled “Picking the Proper Technological Tool for Problem-Solving in Arbitration,” ArbMetaBlock (Full title tba), (Radboud University Press, Maud Piers & Sean McCarthy editors, forthcoming 2024); Ohio State Legal Studies Research Paper No. 808.  In her draft work, Professor Schmitz discus ..read more

Today marks the start of the United States Supreme Court’s new term. During the term, the nation’s highest court will resolve a circuit court split regarding whether Section 1 of the Federal Arbitration Act’s exemption for “any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce,” applies to transportation workers who perform work for companies that operate outside of the transportation industry.   In Bissonnette v. LePage Bakeries Park St., LLC, No. 23-51, a group of delivery drivers filed a putative class action lawsuit against a bakery in a Connecticut federal court ..read more

The Southern District of Texas has denied an Uber driver’s motion to vacate an arbitration award that was issued in favor of the company and granted Uber’s motion to confirm the award.  In Barysas v. Uber Technologies. Inc., No. 4:22-CV-03876 (S.D. Tex. July 14, 2023, report and recommendation adopted Aug. 2, 2023), a man, Barysas, initiated arbitration proceedings against rideshare app company Uber claiming the company miscategorized him as an independent contractor. According to Barysas, Uber willfully and consistently failed to pay him a minimum wage and overtime compensation as requi ..read more

Professor Amy J. Schmitz, John Deaver Drinko-Baker & Hostetler Chair in Law and Co-Director of the Translational Data Analytics Institute Responsible Data Science CoP at The Ohio State University’s Michael E. Moritz College of Law, has written a draft book chapter titled “Clarifying Section 7 to Accommodate OArb,” The Federal Arbitration Act: Successes, Failures, and a Roadmap for Reform (Richard A. Bales & Jill I. Gross, editors, forthcoming 2024 Cambridge University Press); Ohio State Legal Studies Research Paper No. 797.  In her scholarly work, Professor Schmitz proposes poten ..read more

Roseanna Sommers, Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School, has written “What Do Consumers Understand About Predispute Arbitration Agreements? An Empirical Investigation.” In her research paper, Professor Sommers discusses a recent survey of more than one-thousand adult consumers regarding how the presence of an arbitration clause in various contracts impacts their decision-making. Here is the abstract: The results of a survey of 1,071 adults in the United States reveal that most consumers do not pay attention to, let alone understand, arbitration clauses in their ..read more

Last week, the American Bar Association (“ABA”) House of Delegates adopted two resolutions related to alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”).  The resolutions address utilizing the term “court-appointed neutrals” in lieu of “special master” in ABA guidelines, rules, and legislation and urge various courts to adopt a model rule on the use of court-appointed neutrals.  Both of the resolutions were sponsored by the ABA Judicial Division and Section of Dispute Resolution. Resolution 23A516 states: RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association amends the ABA Guidelines for the Appoin ..read more

John Lande, Isidor Loeb Professor Emeritus and Senior Fellow of the Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution at the University of Missouri School of Law, has published “How Can Courts – Practically for Free – Help Parties Prepare for Mediation Sessions?,” University of Missouri School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2023-11.  In his scholarly work, Professor Lande provides interesting and helpful mediation tips for “parties, practitioners, and mediation program administrators.” Here is the abstract: If everyone is well prepared before a mediation session, the process is likely ..read more

David Horton, Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law at the University of California, Davis School of Law has published “Forced Robot Arbitration,” Cornell Law Review, Vol. 109, forthcoming 2023. In his research paper. Professor Horton examines how and whether artificial intelligence may be used in the arbitration process. Here is the abstract: Recently, advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have sparked interest in a topic that sounds like science fiction: robot judges. Researchers have harnessed AI to build programs that can predict the outcome of legal disputes. Some countries have ev ..read more

The National Center for Technology & Dispute Resolution (“NCTDR”) has published an Online Dispute Resolution Bibliography.  According to the NCTDR: Th[e] purpose of this bibliography is to collect publications on Online Dispute Resolution, which have grown exponentially since the field’s founding. While our main purpose is to identify books, book chapters, and journal articles on ODR, a less comprehensive collection of writing in trade and professional journals, conference proceedings, and other formats appears towards the end of this document. Each type of publication appears accor ..read more