In Lubin v. Starbucks Corp., 2024 WL 5113125 (11th Cir. Dec. 16, 2024), the Eleventh Circuit rejected an employer’s attempt to compel arbitration of claims brought by a former employee’s husband, where he had not signed an agreement with the employer and his claims were not sufficiently related to his wife’s employment agreement. The decision…
Category: Arbitration
Court Rejects Challenge to International Arbitration Award
Hidroelectrica Santa Rita S.A. (“HSR”) and Corporación AIC, S.A. (“AICA”) were parties to an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (“EPC”) contract for a power plant to be built in Guatemala. HSR canceled the project, citing force majeure, and the parties brought various claims against each other in arbitration. The arbitration panel issued an award which—among other…
Whether Statute Overrides the Federal Arbitration Act Must Be Decided by a Court, Not an Arbitrator
The Eleventh Circuit again faced the question (becoming increasingly common in the world of arbitration enforcement) of precisely which challenges to “arbitrability” can and cannot be contractually delegated to an arbitrator. The challenge in Steines v. Westgate Palace, L.L.C., 2024 WL 4052630 (11th Cir. Sept. 5, 2024), was based on the Military Lending Act (MLA),…
International Arbitration Award Confirmed Under New Standards
Last year, in Corporación AIC, SA v. Hidroélectrica Santa Rita S.A., 66 F.4th 876 (11th Cir. 2023) (en banc), the court overruled two prior decisions to hold that the grounds for vacatur of an international arbitration award are those set forth in Chapter 1 of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), not the grounds enumerated in…
Arbitration Agreement’s Non-Compliance with AAA Rules Dooms Arbitration Bid
A defendant was not aggrieved by the plaintiffs’ failure to arbitrate, and thus was not entitled to an order staying litigation and compelling arbitration, where the plaintiffs sought arbitration but the AAA refused to take their cases because of the defendant’s noncompliance with AAA rules. Bedgood v. Wyndham Vacation Resorts, Inc., 2023 WL 8722023 (11th…
Court Rejects Former Employee’s Challenge to “Loser-Pays” Arbitration Provision
When Isaac Payne took a job at the Savannah College of Art and Design (“SCAD”), he signed an acknowledgement agreeing to comply with the school’s staff handbook, including its alternative dispute resolution policy. The arbitration policy provided, among other things, that the non-prevailing party in any arbitration would be required to pay the arbitrator’s fees,…
Equitable Tolling May Apply to Deadline for Motion to Vacate Arbitration Award
NuVasive, a manufacturer of medical products, had an exclusive distribution agreement, including noncompetition provisions, with Absolute Medical, LLC. After Absolute Medical disclaimed that agreement and started using the same salespeople to work for NuVasive’s competitor, NuVasive sued. The district court ordered arbitration of one of NuVasive’s claims—for breach-of-contract damages—and stayed most of the other claims….
A New Rule for Vacatur of International Arbitration Awards
Overruling Industrial Risk Insurers v. M.A.N. Gutehoffnunshutte GmbH, 141 F.3d 1434 (11th Cir. 1998) and Inversiones y Procesadora Tropical INPROTSA, S.A. v. Del Monte International GmbH, 921 F.3d 1291 (11th Cir. 2019), the Eleventh Circuit has held that an international arbitration award falling under the New York Convention may be vacated by courts in the…
Full Court Will Consider Grounds for Vacatur of International Arbitration Awards
The court will rehear en banc Corporacion AIC, SA v. Hidroelectrica Santa Rita S.A., 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 27855 (11th Cir. Oct. 5, 2022), concerning the grounds for vacatur of an arbitration award falling under the New York Convention. As we reported here, a panel of the court affirmed a denial of a motion for…
Arbitration Agreement’s Delegation Clause Must Be Enforced Even If Arbitration of Underlying Claims Prohibited by Statute
In Attix v. Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC, 35 F.4th 1284 (11th Cir. May 26, 2022), the Eleventh Circuit reversed a district court’s denial of a motion to compel arbitration and enforced the parties’ agreement to delegate to the arbitrator questions of arbitrability, including whether arbitration itself was precluded by the Dodd-Frank Act. The decision not…