Today the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in this landmark case concerning punitive damages. The six justices in the majority opinion reversed the Ninth Circuit and resolved a circuit split on this issue. The question presented was whether punitive damages may be awarded to a Jones Act seaman in a personal injury suit … Continue Reading
Commercial and employment agreements often include provisions requiring arbitration of disputes between the parties. Some of these agreements contain “delegation clauses” requiring the arbitrator (as opposed to a court) to decide whether the dispute is subject to arbitration. Despite such provisions, one party may sue the other because it perceives an advantage to proceeding in … Continue Reading
The United States Supreme Court ruled today that contracts requiring individualized arbitration of employment-related disputes are enforceable and do not violate Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Background Some employers require their employees to enter into agreements binding the parties to arbitrate employment-related disputes. In recent years, many of those employers have … Continue Reading
Hours before a controversial set of new reporting requirements for government contractors was set to take effect, a federal court in Texas enjoined implementation of the requirements across the country.… Continue Reading
In yet another “retained-acreage” dispute, the Amarillo Court of Appeals recently ruled that an assignee was entitled to retain all acreage covered by the assignment of four leases, where the assignment’s retained-acreage clause invoked the maximum acreage prescribed by the applicable field rules governing proration units, and, in the absence of any such field rules, … Continue Reading
One of the prominent features of arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”)[1] and the arbitration statutes of most states is a stringently limited right of appeal, which is integral to the goal of expeditious and economical dispute resolution. Some parties choose to arbitrate for reasons other than cost and efficiency, however, such as a desire for … Continue Reading
By Natalie Barletta The Texas Supreme Court in, In re Gulf Exploration, LLC, No. 07-0055 (Tex. Apr. 17, 2009), addresses when mandamus relief is available in connection with an order compelling arbitration. In this case, several working interest owners sued Great Western Drilling, their operator, claiming an opportunity to participate in wells drilled by Great … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court of Texas has never before found a waiver of the right to arbitrate, but in a recent five-to-four decision likely to attract multiple friend-of-the court briefs on rehearing, the court vacated an $800,000 arbitration award in favor of two homeowners and remanded their claims for trial based on the conclusion of five … Continue Reading
