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Arbitration › Unconscionable Contracts › Arbitration Agreements

Arbitration is a widely-used method for settling disputes between parties. During arbitration, parties submit their dispute to an impartial third person or party, usually chosen by the parties. Typically, parties... more +
Arbitration is a widely-used method for settling disputes between parties. During arbitration, parties submit their dispute to an impartial third person or party, usually chosen by the parties. Typically, parties to arbitration agree in advance to be bound by the arbitrator's decision. Arbitration is an alternative to litigation, but it shares many of the familiar features of litigation. Namely, parties to arbitration hold hearings before neutral decision-makers, present evidence and argue the merits of their position. Parties often choose arbitration due to its perceived advantages over litigation. Those perceived advantages include greater efficiency and flexibility, and lower costs. less -
Benesch

Ninth Circuit Provides Long-Awaited Guidance on Mass Arbitration Provisions

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In the long-awaited newest chapter of case law discussing the validity and enforceability of arbitration clauses and class action waivers, the Ninth Circuit on October 28, 2024, dealt a setback, though not a fatal blow, to...more

Troutman Pepper

Ninth Circuit Issues Decision Limiting Scope of Concepcion

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In Heckman v. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc., a panel of the Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision refusing to enforce the Ticketmaster arbitration provision in a purported consumer antitrust class action brought...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Ninth Circuit Nixes Live Nation’s ‘Unconscionable’ Arbitration Agreement

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On October 28, 2024, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s ruling in Heckman v. Live Nation, finding Live Nation’s Ticketmaster arbitration agreement unconscionable and therefore unenforceable based on their terms...more

Kilpatrick

California Supreme Court outlines severance standards for unconscionable contract provisions in arbitration case

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Issues surrounding unconscionability and severance are commonplace in motions to compel arbitration, especially in California. Under California Civil Code section 1670.5, a court has three options when presented with an...more

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP

Severing Unconscionable Terms in Employment Arbitration Agreements

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In August 2000, the California Supreme Court handed down a landmark ruling that changed the face of employment arbitration agreements going forward. That case, known as Armendariz v. Foundation Health Psychcare Services,...more

Troutman Pepper

EDVA Judge Invalidates Arbitration Clause in Online Terms and Conditions

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In a recent decision, EDVA Judge Rossie Alston invalidated the arbitration clause in the terms and conditions for online sales through the Lowe’s Home Centers website on the grounds that the terms and conditions were illusory...more

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP

Overbroad Employment Arbitration Agreements Will Not Be Enforced in California

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Arbitration agreements, at their core, are contracts. As with any contract, there must be “mutuality” or, more colloquially, a “meeting of the minds” on what the contract is intended to encompass. For this reason, employment...more

Kilpatrick

Ninth Circuit decides two pro-arbitration cases

Kilpatrick on

The Ninth Circuit concluded that arbitration agreements were enforceable in two opinions that addressed three significant arbitration issues: (1) the standards applicable to the mutual assent analysis in online transactions;...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

California Appellate Decision Raises New Considerations for Arbitration Agreements

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A California appellate court recently denied a motion to compel arbitration, finding the agreement unconscionable in part because it (1) applied to all claims rather than just those arising from employment, (2) was unlimited...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

California Supreme Court Says Severing Unconscionable Terms From Arbitration Agreements Is a Question of Fairness

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on

On July 15, 2024, the Supreme Court of California issued a decision that could provide courts in the state with significant discretion to refuse to enforce employment arbitration agreements even if only one term is determined...more

CDF Labor Law LLP

CA Supreme Court: No Three-Strikes Rule For Enforcement of Arbitration Agreements

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In a recent decision, the California Supreme Court held that courts cannot refuse to enforce arbitration agreements simply by finding that three or more provisions are unconscionable. Rather, courts must use a three-prong...more

Troutman Pepper

Ninth Circuit Reverses District Court, Sending Opportunity Financial Lawsuit to Arbitration

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently reversed a district court’s ruling, which had denied a motion to compel arbitration of Opportunity Financial (OppFi) on the basis that the arbitration clause was...more

Stikeman Elliott LLP

Meal Delivery Service’s Mandatory Arbitration Clause for Couriers Unconscionable: Manitoba Court of Appeal

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The Manitoba Court of Appeal (the “Court”) in Pokornik v. SkipTheDishes Restaurant Services Inc., 2024 MBCA 3, recently upheld a lower court decision dismissing a large online meal delivery service’s motion to stay a class...more

Carlton Fields

Ninth Circuit Reverses Order Denying Motion to Compel Arbitration, Concluding “Delegation Provision” Is Enforceable

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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...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

California Court of Appeal Rules Arbitration Agreement Is Unenforceable

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on

A California appellate court recently denied enforcement of an arbitration agreement because (1) it contained provisions the court found problematic, and (2) the employer presented the agreement to the employee for electronic...more

Carlton Fields

Eleventh Circuit Affirms Order Compelling Arbitration of Discrimination Claims, Rejects Argument That Arbitration Agreement Was...

Carlton Fields on

In Payne v. Savannah College of Art and Design Inc., the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court order denying a motion to compel arbitration of plaintiff Isaac Payne’s discrimination-based claims. The...more

Fisher Phillips

SCOTUS Ruling Protects Top 3 Benefits of Arbitration: Key Takeaways for Employers

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Employers seeking to move workplace claims from the courthouse to arbitration received some good news Friday from the U.S. Supreme Court. If a trial court denies a party’s request to compel arbitration, the court must pause...more

Fisher Phillips

SCOTUS Predictions: Divided Court Will Reach Close Decision in Critical Arbitration Case

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Employers that face lawsuits from employees often seek to move such claims from the courthouse to arbitration. But what happens if the trial court refuses to compel arbitration and the employer appeals the decision? Should...more

Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP

Court of Appeal Finds Arbitration Agreement Presented as a Stand-alone Document was Not Unconscionable

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The Second District Court of Appeal issued an opinion in Rocha v. U-Haul Co. of California, et al. (Cal. Ct. App., Feb. 2, 2023, No. B322599) 2023 WL 1462594, addressing questions of procedural and substantive...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

Verizon appeal on mass arbitration issues backed by prominent industry groups

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Earlier this week, we wrote about Verizon’s appeal to the Ninth Circuit from a district court ruling that the bellwether provision in its arbitration clause was unconscionable. Both the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the...more

Carlton Fields

Eleventh Circuit Enforces Employee Arbitration Agreement, Concluding That Agreement Was Not Unconscionable

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In Lambert v. Signature Healthcare LLC, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s denial of the defendants-appellants’ motion to dismiss and to compel arbitration under the FAA, holding that the...more

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

California Court Finds Arbitration Agreement Unconscionable

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An employer’s arbitration agreement was both procedurally and substantively unconscionable, a California appellate panel determined, affirming a trial court’s denial of an employer’s motion to compel arbitration....more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

A High Point for On-Demand Bonds: English Court of Appeal Questions ‘Paget’s Presumption’; English High Court Rejects Emergency...

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP on

On-Demand Bonds or Guarantees are preferred relative to “see to it” Bonds or Guarantees. This is because under On-Demand Bonds the obligation to pay arises through a demand being made under the Bond whereas under a “see to...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Mandatory Arbitration Provision Struck Down by the Washington Supreme Court

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Seyfarth Synopsis: The Washington Supreme Court refused to enforce a mandatory arbitration agreement that was contained within an Employee Handbook. ...more

Carlton Fields

First Circuit Vacates Order Compelling Arbitration Over Arbitrator Selection Clause

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The First Circuit vacated an order compelling arbitration after finding that the arbitrator selection clause was unconscionable. The court nevertheless remanded the case to the district court to determine if the selection...more

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