ADR

November 17, 2019

That was the issue presented to Arbitrator Robert E. Light in Aramark Uniform & Career Apparel and Teamsters Local Union No. 769.Grievant was employed by Aramark as a Route Sales Representative. In acknowledgement of his sales performance, he was invited to a Company recognition event consisting of a dinner and a limo to and from a Miami Heat basketball game. Alcohol was provided by the Company both at the dinner and in the limo.…

Disputing

California Bans Mandatory Arbitration Agreements as a Condition of Employment

By Beth Graham

November 11, 2019

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a law that prohibits employers in the state from requiring workers to sign a mandatory arbitration provision as a condition of employment. AB 51 mandates that an “employer shall not threaten, retaliate or discriminate against, or terminate any applicant for employment or any employee because of the refusal to consent to the waiver of any right, forum, or procedure for a violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing…

Arbitration Matters

Arbitrator reverses termination for police officer’s use of racial slur

By John H Curley

November 10, 2019

Arbitrator Thomas Cipolla overturned the termination of a San Antonio police officer who had been captured on a body camera using a racial slur during an arrest. Arbitrator Cipolla’s award can be found here. KSAT links to the video at San Antonio officer who repeatedly used N-word while arresting black man asks for job back. The facts of the incident were largely undisputed. The Chief described at the arbitration hearing why he made the decision that termination was appropriate:…

Disputing

The Role of International Mediation in Data Protection and Privacy Law

By Beth Graham

November 7, 2019

Sinta Dewi, Padjadjaran University Faculty of Law, Robert Walters of Victoria University, Leon Trakman, University of New South Wales Faculty of Law, and Bruno Zeller, University of Western Australia Faculty of Law, have jointly published a timely journal article titled, “The Role of International Mediation in Data Protection and Privacy Law – Can It be Effective?” (2019) 30 Australian Dispute Resolution Journal 61; UNSW Law Research Paper No. 19-77. In their…

Disputing

Washington Magistrate Judge Recommends Amazon’s Motion to Compel Arbitration be Denied in Children’s Privacy Lawsuit

By Beth Graham

November 6, 2019

A United States Magistrate Judge has reportedly recommended that retail giant Amazon’s motion to compel arbitration in a proposed class action lawsuit that was brought against the company over alleged children’s privacy violations be denied. As discussed in another Disputing blog post: In the case, a group of parents filed a putative collective action complaint against Amazon in the Western District of Washington in Seattle over the company’s Alexa technology. The parents claim…

Dispute Resolution in Germany

Fritz Bauer

By Peter Bert

November 6, 2019

I have written before about Fritz Bauer, the Hessian attorney general (Generalstaatsanwalt) and the public prosecutor behind the first Auschwitz trials in Germany and the Eichman trail in Israel. The late Erardo Rautenberg, attorney general in the state of Brandenburg, had lobbied for an official postal stamp in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Fritz Bauer’s death in 2018. Last year, the proposal was not implemented and unfortunately, Rautenberg did not live to…

Disputing

SCOTX Refuses to Weigh in on Oil & Gas Arbitration Dispute

By Beth Graham

November 5, 2019

The Supreme Court of Texas will not consider whether non-signatory assignees may be compelled to arbitrate their claims following an indemnity dispute. According to another Disputing blog post: In Wagner Oil Co. v. Apache Corp., No. 19-0243, Texas-based Wagner Oil Company (“WOC”) purchased certain Louisiana oil and gas assets from Apache Corporation by executing a purchase and sale agreement (“PSA”). The PSA was signed by Bryan Wagner on behalf of WOC. The PSA included an arbitration provision that…

Disputing

W. D. Texas, San Antonio Division Orders ERISA Lawsuit to Individual Arbitration

By Beth Graham

November 4, 2019

The Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division has ordered a proposed class-action Employee Retirement Income Security Act lawsuit to individual arbitration. In Torres v. Greystar Management Services, LP, No. SA-19-CA-510-FB (HJB) (W. D. Texas, October 25, 2019), a Greystar employee who was also a Greystar 401(k) Plan (the “Plan”) participant filed a putative class-action lawsuit against Greystar over what she claimed were unusually high Plan administrative fees. In response to the worker’s complaint,…

Arbitration Matters

Deferral to arbitration of charges raising issues under the “contract coverage” test announced in MV Transportation, Inc. 368 NLRB No. 66

By John H Curley

November 3, 2019

In MV Transportation, Inc., the NLRB decided that it would no longer apply the “clear and unmistakable waiver” test in resolving charges that an employer had made unilateral changes in matters addressed in a collective bargaining agreement. Instead, it would follow the “contract coverage” standard applied by a number of circuit courts. In a press release announcing its decision, the Board summarized the distinction between the two tests.Under the “contract coverage” or “covered by the contract”…

Dispute Resolution in Germany

Case of the Week: Litigating in the Shadow of Brexit

By Peter Bert

November 1, 2019

This week, yet another Brexit deadline expired without additional clarity as to when and on what terms Brexit will occur. This creates uncertainties, which affect business relations with British parties, and impact, amongst many other fields, civil litigation. So in this week’s Case of the Week, we present the three cases I know of in which German courts had to deal with Brexit-related issues. The cases deal with security for costs, the validity of choice…