By Renee Gerstman Congratulations! The mediation was successful and the parties executed a term sheetsetting forth the substantive terms to be included in a formal definitive agreement. The parties,intending the term sheet to be binding despite lack of executed final settlement documents,1include a sentence providing that the mediator will resolve any disputes regarding the mediatedterm sheet. In the process of finalizing the settlement agreement a dispute arises, and the mediator isasked …
arbitration clauses
SCOTUS Holds That When Parties Enter into Multiple Contracts Containing Conflicting Dispute Resolution Provisions, A Court, Not an Arbitrator, Must Decide Which Contract Governs
In Coinbase v. Suski, 610 U.S. __ (May 23, 2024) (“Coinbase”), SCOTUS resolved a very narrow legal question based upon a highly specific factual scenario. The parties entered into two contracts. The earlier contract contained an arbitration clause specifically delegating issues of arbitrability to an arbitrator. The subsequent contract contained a forum selection clause requiring litigation of disputes in the California courts. The case called upon SCOTUS to decide whether an arbitrator or a …
The Floodgates Have Opened: Mass Arbitrations
A series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions have all but eliminated class arbitrations for consumers, employees, franchisees, and others with common claims against a single company. The latest, decisive blow came in Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela, 587 U.S. __, 203 L. Ed. 2d 636 (2019), with the Court holding that arbitration on a classwide basis could not be compelled based on an arbitration agreement’s ambiguous language. Most arbitration agreements include a waiver of class arbitrations; …
