United States

2019 In Review, Section 1782 Discovery, U.S. Supreme Court, United States, United States Courts, USMCA

(Musick, Peeler & Garrett LLP) and (Law Offices of Kiran N Gore PLLC; The George Washington University Law School)/ /Leave a comment

2019 was an important year for international arbitration developments in the United States, both in the commercial and investment context.  Some of the more far-reaching developments included the deepening circuit court split on whether “manifest disregard” of the law is a grounds to refuse enforcement of an award, the first U.S. Court of Appeals decision…

Emergency Arbitrator, ICDR, United States, United States Courts

, (Fitch Law Partners)/ /Leave a comment

Recently, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (the “District Court”) put the problem with emergency arbitration front and center: it refused to confirm and enforce an emergency interim arbitration award (the “Emergency Award”) awarded by an emergency arbitrator (the “Emergency Arbitrator”) under Article 6 of the American Arbitration Association’s International Center…

Domestic arbitration, Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), United States

(Penn State Law)/ /Leave a comment

The progression of arbitration law in the American legal system has been steadfast. Despite a few uneasy rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court (“SCOTUS” or “the Court”) has provided resolute support for arbitration and proclaimed the legitimacy of its enhanced adjudicatory role. The few rulings that strayed from the contemporary judicial evaluation of arbitration1)Wilko v. Swan,…

Appeal, Arbitration, Awards, Challenge of Arbitral Award, Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), Manifest disregard, Manifest Disregard Doctrine, Manifest disregard of the law, New York, United States

, (Reed Smith)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction In domestic award enforcement proceedings, the U.S. federal Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (“Second Circuit”) in New York recently reversed a lower federal trial court’s decision to vacate that award on grounds that the arbitrator manifestly disregarded the law.  See Weiss v. Sallie Mae, Inc., Dkt. No. 18-2362, Slip Op. (2d Cir….

Applicable Law, Blocking regulations, Economic Sanctions, EU Law, European Union, Government intervention, Iran, Lex Arbitri, Lex Fori, Sanctions, United States

and (Steptoe & Johnson LLP)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction The United States announced the reinstatement of sanctions on Iran in May 2018. Following that, the EU responded by revising their Blocking Regulation (Regulation 2271/96) in August 2018. The Blocking Regulation was designed to safeguard European entities from the extraterritorial reach of the U.S. sanctions. The uncertainty surrounding the scope of application and the nature of blocking…

Immunity, International Law, Sovereign Immunities, Sovereign Immunity, United States

, (Reed Smith)/ /Leave a comment

The recent decision issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in Pao Tatneft v. Ukraine reopened the door to whether a country waives sovereign immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (the “FSIA”) by signing the New York Convention or other international treaties. In Pao Tatneft v. Ukraine, Tatneft,…

ARIAS, Dispute Resolution, Insurance, United States

(Pasich LLP)/ /Leave a comment

Writing in 2015 about the need to study the intersection between insurance and dispute resolution, Professor Robert H. Jerry II concluded as follows: “The business of insurance is first and foremost the business of providing financial security against the risk of loss, but when loss occurs, the business of insurance becomes the business of resolving…

Discovery, International Commercial Arbitration, Section 1782 Discovery, United States

(Musick, Peeler & Garrett LLP)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction Abdul Latif Jameel Transportation Co. Ltd. v. FedEx Corp., decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit earlier this month, is arguably the first post-Intel decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals that “permits discovery for use” in a “private commercial arbitration” under 28 U.S.C. § 1782(a). (Case No. 19-5315, at…

Arbitration Agreement, Best practices, commercial litigation, Contract Drafting, Court of Appeal, Court Proceedings, National Courts, United States

, (Fitch Law Partners)/ /Leave a comment

Arbitration is often used to avoid the messy processes of national litigation, sometimes involving years of appeals and hearings. But when you want to attach property to support your arbitral award, that itself can result in years-long litigation, as in the case of Stemcor USA, Inc. v. Cia Siderurgica Do Para. The delays in the…

Annulment, Appeal, Arbitral Award, Awards, ICSID, United States

, (Arent Fox)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction The enforcement bar is becoming more specialized. This development follows the trend in U.S. litigation towards increasing specialization and the growth of niche practice industries; but it also stems from specific changes to the enforcement regime that are addressed in this article and that have important implications for the life-cycle of an international arbitration….

ADR, Arbitration institution, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR), Interview, Interviews with Our Editors, United States

(Law Offices of Kiran N Gore PLLC; The George Washington University Law School)/ /Leave a comment

Mr. André, welcome to the Kluwer Arbitration Blog. We were pleased to have Mr. Hanft join us recently and are thrilled to have the opportunity to also share your perspective with our readers.  To start, can you briefly introduce yourself and explain your role at CPR? Thank you very much for the invitation Kiran.  At…

ADR, Arbitration institution, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR), Interview, Interviews with Our Editors, United States

(Law Offices of Kiran N Gore PLLC; The George Washington University Law School)/ /Leave a comment

Mr. Hanft, welcome to the Kluwer Arbitration Blog!  I appreciate the opportunity to share your perspective with our readers at an exciting moment, where conversations about politics, diversity, and technology are intersecting and transforming the way globalized corporations and their lawyers conceive of and approach dispute resolution.   Before we delve in, can you briefly introduce…

New York, Section 1782 Discovery, Tribunal, U.S. Supreme Court, United States

(Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP)/ /Leave a comment

United States Code Section 1782 has become the weapon of choice for international litigants seeking discovery in aid of foreign proceedings. Section 1782 allows an “interested person” (such as a foreign litigant) to apply for discovery over a person or entity “found” in the U.S. “for use” in a proceeding “in a foreign or international tribunal.”…

Arbitration, Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Proceedings, Enforcement, International arbitration, Investment Arbitration, New York Convention, New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, Public Policy, United States

(Albright StoneBridge Group)/ /Leave a comment

The decision made in the case of Hardy Exploration & Production (India), Inc. v. Government of India, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (Civ. Action No. 16-140 (D.D.C. 7 June 2018)) (“Hardy case”) is yet another decision in a string of outcomes under the New York Convention proving that the repeated adagio “if it ain’t broken,…

2018 In Review, Enforcement, Enforcement of an arbitration clause, Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), New York, New York Convention, New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, SCOTUS, technology industry, U.S. Supreme Court, United States, USMCA

(Law Offices of Kiran N Gore PLLC; The George Washington University Law School)/ /Leave a comment

As we head into the new year, it is worth reflecting on major international arbitration-related developments in the United States during 2018 and their coverage on the blog.   Early in the year, our authors homed in on the U.S. Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), which embodies U.S. arbitration law, including the New York Convention.  As…

Arbitral seat, Arbitration, United States

(Musick, Peeler & Garrett LLP)/ /4 Comments

“Why don’t you go on west to California? There’s work there, and it never gets cold. Why, you can reach out anywhere and pick an orange.  Why, there’s always some kind of crop to work in. Why don’t you go there?” – John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath Introduction For many years, the answer for international…

Appellate Body, Arbitration, European Union, Trade, United States, WTO

, (Linklaters)/ /Leave a comment
Linklaters

In light of the tariffs on steel imposed by the United States of America (“USA”), the Europe Union (“EU”) has threatened to impose tariffs of its own on American goods. Additionally, the EU has also filed a claim against USA at the World Trade Organisation (“WTO”). However, as discussed below, it may be that this…

Arbitration Agreement, Arbitration clause, Labour Law, United States

(Covington & Burling LLP)/ /Leave a comment
ArbitralWomen

On May 21st, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis (“Epic Systems”) held in a 5-4 majority that one-on-one mandatory arbitration agreements imposed by employers upon their employees must be enforced as written in accordance with the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”). The majority opinion, written by Justice Neil…

Arbitration, Summary Judgment, Summary procedure, United States

(Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP)/ /1 Comment
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP

The recent American case of Weirton Medical Center Inc v Community Health Systems Inc (N.D. W. Va. Dec. 12, 2017) is another reminder that the debate over the place of summary disposal in arbitration has not been settled. This issue has previously been in the spotlight notably through the transatlantic case of Travis Coal Restructured…

Albania, Arbitration, Recognition and enforcement of arbitral award, United States

(Chaffetz Lindsey LLP)/ /Leave a comment

The recent decision by an intermediate New York appellate court in AlbaniaBEG Ambient Sh.p.k. v. Enel S.p.A.1)A.D.3d, No. 152679/14, 2018 WL 755355 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dep’t Feb. 8, 2018). has sharply curtailed “a procedural loophole in Chapter 2 of the Federal Arbitration Act”2)Commissions Imp. Exp. S.A. v. Republic of Congo, 916 F. Supp. 2d…

Arbitral Award, Awards, Consent awards, United States

(Ava J Borrasso P.A.)/ /1 Comment
ArbitralWomen

The importance of memorializing a settlement agreement into a consent award was recently highlighted in Transocean Offshore Gulf of Guinea Vii v. Erin Energy Corp., Case No. H-17-2623 (S.D. Tex. March 12, 2018). There, a Texas district court addressed whether a consent award is subject to confirmation in the United States pursuant to the New…

Domestic Courts, Domestic law, Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), United States

(Durham Law School)/ /Leave a comment

The central point of this note is that the U.S. law of arbitration is not clear from the text of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The FAA is archaic and in need of updating. The FAA is the oldest – but still functioning – arbitration statute in the world. Case law has rewritten much of…

Brexit, ISDS, NAFTA, UK, United States

(Allen & Overy) and (Jenner & Block LLP)/ /Leave a comment

In the first part of this article, we discussed the need to broaden the debate about the UK’s future trading relationships, touched upon some potential advantages of the UK joining the NAFTA and traced the idea’s limited history. Is there political will? These days, the idea remains on the periphery, even out of sight. Each…

Brexit, ISDS, NAFTA, UK, United States

(Allen & Overy) and (Jenner & Block LLP)/ /Leave a comment

To many, it would seem foolish even to ask whether the UK might join the North American Free Trade Agreement. Yet, the UK should explore all possibilities open in a post-Brexit world. As we explain, the idea that the UK might join the NAFTA is not only conceptually interesting, but also merits entertaining with a…