The U.S. Supreme Court has once again spoken decisively in favor of class action waivers in arbitration agreements. In DirecTV, Inc. v. Imburgia, the Court explained in no uncertain terms that “[t]he Federal Arbitration Act is a law of the United States, and Concepcion is an authoritative interpretation of that Act. Consequently, the judges of every State must follow it.” The Court thus reversed a decision of the California Court of Appeals that invalidated an…
In NS United Kaiun Kaisha Ltd. v. Cogent Fibre Inc., No. 15 Civ. 1784, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS…
In Sanchez v. Valencia Holding Company, LLC, No. S199119 (Cal. Sup. Ct. Aug. 3, 2015), the California Supreme Court clarified…
“Would you, dear arbitrator candidate, be prepared to meet with my client? They really want to know beforehand the person who will ultimately decide about the future of their company.” If a party’s counsel asks the potential arbitrator such a question at the end of a first telephone call, many will intuitively decline the request with a quick “No, that is impossible!”. Too overwhelming is the strict ban of ex-parte communications in international arbitration. But…
The much awaited text of the TPP has been released. As anticipated, the Investment Chapter (Chapter 9) sets…
Most major international arbitration rules require that an award rendered by a tribunal include the reasons upon which…
Agreement has been reached on the long-awaited Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP is a free trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim nations, including Australia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United States, which represent around 40% of global GDP and one third of world trade. The text of the TPP is still being finalised by the TPP States and is not yet available. Reports indicate that the TPP includes an Investment Chapter with a…
Nowadays high value M&A transactions and project structures can be very complex, in particular involving a number of…
On Sept. 16, 2015, the European Union launched a proposal for a new “Investment Court System” which shall…
In an April 2015 decision, In re Application of Grupo Unidos por el Canal S.A., a California district court held that Section 1782 does not authorize assistance with discovery in aid of private arbitrations established by contract. Grupo Unidos por el Canal (“GUPC”), a Panama-based company owned by four global construction firms, entered into a contract with Autoridad del Canal de Panama (“ACP”), a legal entity of the Republic of Panama, to build a new set of locks for…