While the arbitration agreement in a variable annuity was enforceable because the investment was a security, once the annuitant converted the product to a fixed annuity it became an insurance product and the PDAA was not enforceable, a unanimous Kentucky Supreme Court holds. The virtually unlimited reach of Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) preemption can be…
We entered 2021 with SCOTUS poised to again rule on delegation after hearing oral argument late in 2020.[1] Later in the year, the Court agreed to hear two more arbitration-centric cases. The result for these three cases? Two oral arguments were held, but there was a “never mind” from the Court after one of them.[2] And the…
FINRA intends to codify its program to expedite administration of cases involving senior or seriously ill parties. As promised, we commissioned a survey on the program’s effectiveness, which reveals that the voluntary program has been marginally effective. In SAA 2021-45 (Dec. 2), we reported that FINRA Dispute Resolution Services (“DRS”) was considering a rule change…
In about a month, the Supreme Court has gone from zero arbitration-centric cases set for review to four (five if you double count a consolidated case). Just a month ago, we were reporting in SAA 2021-43 (Nov. 18) that, having just heard argument in this Term’s only arbitration-related case then on the oral argument docket…
FINRA Dispute Resolution Services (“DRS”) posted case statistics through the end of October, with the overall arbitration case filing trends continuing from prior months but with a confirmed major change in mediation stats. In brief, the headlines are: 1) overall arbitration filings through October – 2,527 cases – are down 26% (had been -27% in September); 2) cumulative customer claims, which had…
The looming Thanksgiving break did not deter Congress from moving ahead with proposed legislation governing arbitration use. We have reported episodically on efforts afoot in Congress to regulate, limit, or ban, mandatory predispute arbitration agreement (“PDAA”) use or enforcement in certain situations. Here’s a brief update on some recent activity. Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault…
Arbitrators have an affirmative duty to reveal potential conflicts of interest, especially when such a disclosure is expressly required by the forum in which they serve, and may taint the entire panel via inadequate disclosures. That was the lesson in Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. v. Guerrero, No. 21-2-05414-1-SEA (Wash. Super. Ct., Kings Cty., Oct. 26,…
Having just heard argument in this term’s only arbitration-related case on the oral argument docket, SCOTUS on November 15 granted Certiorari in another case involving arbitration. As reported in SAA 2021-41 (Nov. 4), with a full complement of Justices, oral argument took place November 2 before the Supreme Court in the arbitration-centric Badgerow v. Walters, No. 20-1143. With no other arbitration-related…
Years ago I penned a blog post on Thanksgiving and arbitration. It still rings true. So, without further ado, here’s my Thanksgiving blog post, updated. The other day, I stumbled on a television show that debunked some commonly-held misperceptions about Thanksgiving. Who knew the Pilgrims didn’t wear black and white clothes and sport buckles? This got…
We reported in SAA 2021-41 (Nov. 4) that the Public Investors Advocate Bar Association (“PIABA”) announced in an October 28 Press Release that Michael Edmiston of Jonathan W. Evans & Associates was elected President at its just-concluded annual meeting. As promised, we interviewed Mr. Edmiston about his priorities for this upcoming year. The Alert congratulates Mr. Edmiston and thanks him for agreeing…