Patent Infringement: Successful Litigation Stays the "Course"
Recent decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court in Smith v. Spizzirri, 601 U.S. 472 (2024) and Coinbase, Inc. v. Suski, 144 S. Ct. 1186 (2024) provide important guidance for companies utilizing arbitration clauses in their...more
With its recent decision in Coinbase Inc. v. Suski, the U.S. Supreme Court held that when parties have agreed to two separate contracts, one sending arbitrability disputes to arbitration and the other sending arbitrability...more
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed the denial of a motion to compel arbitration filed by the plaintiff in the matter. The court noted that arbitration “can be waived in a variety of circumstances, including...more
As Dominic Toretto says: “Ask any racer, any real racer, it doesn’t matter if you win by an inch or a mile, winning’s winning.” “Fast and Furious” is the tenth highest-grossing film series ever, with a combined gross of over...more
On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Henry Schein, Inc. v. Archer and White Sales, Inc. to decide a question that has divided the federal circuit courts and state supreme courts: “whether a provision...more
In July 2018, our Construction Alert addressed the question of who decides the arbitrability of a dispute when your contract includes an arbitration clause. Is it a court or the arbitrator? How did the “wholly groundless”...more
Can arbitrators determine what issues they have the power to decide? According to the U.S. Supreme Court, they can, provided there is “clear and unmistakable evidence” the parties intended to delegate threshold questions to...more
Arbitration clauses are commonplace in corporate transactions, including those in the product liability arena. Whether the agreement concerns the distribution of a product to a seller or the sale of a product to a consumer,...more
In January 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision confirming the broad power of arbitrators and the strict enforcement of arbitration agreements. In a unanimous decision authored by Justice Kavanaugh, the Court in...more
Taking the time to include a well-crafted arbitration agreement in your employment contracts sometimes feels like a moot point, but a recent unanimous U.S. Supreme Court opinion in Henry Schein, Inc. v. Archer & White Sales,...more
Archer & White Sales, Inc. (“Archer”) sued Henry Schein, Inc. (“Schein”) in federal court seeking both monetary and injunctive relief....more
In his first opinion since being confirmed to the Supreme Court, Justice Kavanaugh was joined by his fellow justices in unanimously deciding that delegation clauses in arbitration agreements must be enforced. Delegation...more
Gateway issues of arbitrability are presumptively for a court, rather than an arbitrator, to decide in the first instance. First Options of Chicago, Inc. v. Kaplan, 514 U.S. 938 (1995). But arbitration is a creature of...more
In 1925, Congress passed and President Coolidge signed the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq., which provides that arbitrators, not judges and juries, must decide the issues that the parties agreed to...more
In the past two weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court released two unanimous opinions regarding enforcement of arbitration agreements under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), Henry Schein, Inc. v. Archer and White Sales, Inc., and...more
Takeaway: Justice Kavanaugh’s first Supreme Court opinion is yet another High Court reminder that, when it comes to arbitration, the contract controls. If parties agree that an arbitrator should resolve the “gateway” issue...more
The Supreme Court and the Third Circuit decided three cases in the last week relating to the interpretation and enforceability of arbitration agreements. We discuss them below. Third Circuit Compels Arbitration of an...more
On January 8, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Henry Schein, Inc. v. Archer & White Sales, Inc.—the first opinion authored by Justice Brett Kavanaugh—reaffirming that, where parties have agreed to...more
Our International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution Team examines how the Supreme Court resolved a circuit split over who decides the question of arbitrability—i.e., whether a claim falls within the scope of an arbitration...more
As we noted in our Dec. 19, 2018, blog article, there were three arbitration cases involving the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), all argued in October 2018, pending on the Court’s docket. Now, in a unanimous opinion written by...more
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court held unanimously that when an arbitration delegates gateway issues of arbitrability to the arbitator to decide, a court may not consider questions of arbitrability, even where the party...more
On January 8, 2019, in a unanimous opinion written by Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court ruled that where parties have agreed to delegate issues of arbitrability to an arbitrator, a court may not override...more
On January 8, 2019, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Henry Schein, Inc. et al. v. Archer & White Sales, Inc., No. 17–1272, 2019 WL 122164 (U.S. Jan. 8, 2019), in which the Court yet again...more
In his first Supreme Court opinion, Justice Kavanaugh, writing for a unanimous court, held that when a contract delegates to arbitrators gateway questions regarding arbitrability of disputes, courts may not override that...more
California employers should make sure the arbitrator decides on arbitrability. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that when a valid arbitration agreement allows the arbitrator to decide whether the...more