Reinsurance Focus

Confirming/Vacating Arbitral Award

Fisher v. Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC, Case No. 12-1413-CM (USDC D. Kan. Dec. 18, 2012) (granting motion to confirm arbitration award; holding that allegedly erroneous discovery rulings did not deprive plaintiff of a fundamentally fair hearing nor constitute arbitrator misconduct)

Laughlin v. VMWare, Inc., Case No. 11-cv-00530-EJD (USDC N.D. Cal. Dec. 20, 2012) (denying motion to vacate arbitration award; holding that the arbitrator did not manifestly disregard the law by denying respondent’s motion to strike class allegations)

State Farm Insurance Cos. v. Padilla, No. 27-CV-11-23900 (Minn. Ct. App. Dec. 24 2012) (reversing order vacating no fault arbitration award; holding that the arbitrator did not exceed his powers by finding that insurer’s request for an examination under oath was unreasonable)

Stone & Youngberg, LLC v. Kay Family Revocable Trust, No. 11-16684 (9th Cir. Dec. 12, 2012) (holding that the arbitrator did not manifestly disregard negligence law and, further, that a court has no authority under the FAA to modify an arbitration award to prevent double recovery)

Compelling Arbitration

Baltazar v. Forever 21, Inc., No. B237173 (Cal. Ct. App. Dec. 20, 2012) (reversing order denying motion to compel arbitration; holding, among other things, that a provision in an arbitration agreement allowing either party to seek provisional remedies in court, such as injunctive relief, did not render the arbitration agreement unconscionable)

Taylor v. Community Bankers Securities, LLC, Case No. H-12-2088 (USDC S.D. Tex. Dec. 19, 2012) (denying motion to compel arbitration of action brought by receiver appointed to represent investors in Ponzi scheme due to absence of evidence that investors entered into arbitration agreements)

Botorff v. Amerco, Case No. 2:12-cv-01286-MCE-EFB (USDC E.D. Cal. Dec. 19, 2012) (dismissing UCL claim against truck rental company; holding that arbitration agreement referred to but not included in rental agreement was enforceable and, further, that small claims court exception to compulsory arbitration did not apply because plaintiff’s lawsuit was brought as a class action that could not be adjudicated in small claims court)

Stone v. Vail Resorts Development Co., Case No. 1:09-cv-02081 (USDC D. Colo. Dec. 20, 2012) (denying plaintiff’s motion to reopen case and reconsider order compelling arbitration)

Interim Arbitral Relief

United States f/b/o Clifford & Galvin Contracting, LLC v. Endicott Constructors Corp., Case No. 12-10152-MLW (USDC D. Mass. Dec. 13, 2012) (denying motion to dismiss Miller Act claims against surety and staying case pending arbitration between contractor and assured party)

Bergman v. Spruce Peak Realty, LLC, Case Nos. 2:11-cv-127, 2:11-cv-128 (USDC D. Vt. Dec. 13, 2012) (granting motion to consolidate two related class action cases and granting motion to stay consolidated action pending arbitrator’s decision on scope of arbitrable claims in one case)

Jurisdictional Issues

First Investment Corp. of the Marshall Islands v. Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding, Ltd., No. 12-30377 (5th Cir. Dec. 21, 2012) (affirming that district court properly dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction a petition to confirm a foreign arbitration award under the U.N. Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards; affirming that defendant People’s Republic of China was properly dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction)

This post written by Ben Seessel.

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