A $3.2 million medical malpractice jury verdict that was slashed by a damages cap could get a new lease on life at the Fourth District Court of Appeal, which Tuesday considered whether the trial court was right to let a defendant off for being one day late in demanding arbitration.
Read moreDivorces and commercial disputes to rise due to coronavirus says Dundee firm
Solicitors expect the amount of commercial disputes to increase in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic – but lack confidence the courts are sufficiently prepared to deal with the backlog of cases, according to a new survey.
Read moreBAR REPORT - Capitol Report
Brian Delaney was a businessman who frequently retained lawyers to assist him in multi-million-dollar business transactions. He retained Sills Cummis to represent him in two lawsuits and signed a three-page retainer agreement in connection with those matters. The agreement contained an arbitration clause just above the signature line referencing the rules of JAMS arbitration—a 32-page document that was not included within the agreement—as dictating the terms of arbitration.
Read moreQuotient Limited and Ortho Clinical Diagnostics Settle Arbitration and Sign Binding Letter of Intent Covering Patient Transfusion Diagnostics
JERSEY, Channel Islands, Sept. 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Quotient Limited (NASDAQ:QTNT), headquartered in Eysins, Switzerland, today announced that the Company and Ortho Clinical Diagnostics (Ortho) have signed a binding letter of intent that confirms the termination of their former distribution agreement and related contracts and resolves all their disputes over the former distribution agreement. In addition, this ends the pending arbitration between the two companies and establishes a new distributor relationship focused solely on patient transfusion diagnostics.
Read moreUniversity of Akron, faculty union file briefs in arbitration over layoffs
AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron and the university’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors have filed their initial briefs in an arbitration case that will decide whether the elimination of more than 70 faculty positions will remain in effect.
Read moreAfrican Petroleum arbitration: who will foot legal bill of Banjul Omnia Strategy, Lucas Bastin and Edi M.O. Faal?
Valentina Ruiz Leotaud | April 26, 2020 | 12:55 pm Europe Gold
The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) ruled against Canadian company Edgewater Exploration (TSX-V: EDW) in its long-standing legal battle with Spain related to the Corcoesto gold project in the northwestern region of Galicia.
This week, UNCITRAL dismissed Edgewater’s pretensions to recover the $35 million it had invested in Corcoesto prior to the project being denied permission by the Galicia Regional Government, known as Xunta.
“The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Corcoesto S.A. had commenced arbitration in 2016 under the Spain-Panama bilateral investment treaty and the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules (1976). Following a hearing in Paris, France during April 2018, the Tribunal rejected, unanimously, four jurisdictional objections by Spain but upheld, by majority in a 2 to 1 decision, one jurisdictional objection by Spain and dismissed the claim on that basis. The dissenting arbitrator opined that the majority’s decision erred in both law and fact and that the Tribunal did have jurisdiction and should have decided the merits of the claim,” the Vancouver-based miner said in a media statement.
Edgewater added that the recent dismissal of the entire claim is a disappointment and that the company and its subsidiary are “considering avenues for legal redress, including an annulment proceeding in the French courts.”
This is how it all started
After purchasing the Corcoesto project in 2010 and having its environmental impact declaration approved by the Xunta in 2012, Edgewater completed a series of drilling programs, and technical studies designed to advance the project, upgrade and expand the mineral resources, and evaluate the economics.
GOLD AT CORCOESTO WAS FIRST EXPLOITED BY THE ROMANS. IN THE LAST DECADES, SAGASTA GOLD, AURIFERA GALLEGA, RIO TINTO MINERA, RIO NARCEA GOLD MINES AND KINBAURI GOLD HAVE BEEN ACTIVE IN THE AREA
The plan forecasted a 9.9-year mine life and a total output of a little over 1 million ounces of gold. The heap-leach, open-pit operation would use cyanide to extract the yellow metal, something that caused alarm among environmentalist groups.
According to the EID, the operation’s annual waste production would be 2.1 million tonnes, of which 2 million tonnes would be floatation waste and 100,000 tonnes would be leaching. The estimated total of waste production was to be 17,080,751 tonnes during the mine’s working life.
Following the approval of the proposal, the Xunta went back on its decision and said it would not green-light the mining project unless the Canadian company fulfilled a number of environmental, technical and financial requirements not contemplated in its plan.
A legal battle ensued. In 2015, the Galicia government announced that the mining concession had expired and it would not be reopening the adjudication process, something that Edgewater considered illegal and a violation of international law.
Later on, the Galician Superior Tribunal of Justice ruled that the mine could not go forward because the project lacked financial and technical solvency, a decision that was backed by Spain’s Supreme Tribunal in 2019.
The latter decision was the one that led Edgewater to seek arbitration from UNCITRAL.
Arbitrary arbitration: Enforcing global awards is getting more complicated
For a country that wants to be a global arbitration hub, and which wants to raise its ranking on the contract-enforcement index, the news just keeps getting worse. Some weeks ago, the Supreme Court (SC) asked Devas Multimedia if it was willing to consider waiving off the interest component on the money owed to it—it won a $672 million global arbitration award—by the government space agency ISRO’s arm, Antrix Corporation.
Read moreMaybank IB downgrades MISC to 'hold' following unfavourable arbitration decision
To recap, the latest arbitration decision ruled that MISC is liable for the defects of FPS Gumusut-Kakap and will need to pay Sabah Shell Petroleum Co in excess of US$325mil, inclusive of interest and litigation costs, while the lease rate of the vessel will be reduced by 5% to 9%.
Read moreConservative justices embrace delegation to arbitration panels while questioning administrative process
1984 was a dramatic year for literature and law. George Orwell’s classic novel came of age, with its four Ministries of Peace, Love, Plenty, and Truth that brilliantly described their opposites. Less observed that year—except by administrative lawyers—was the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, the case that was to recalibrate judicial review of agency decisions. Also decided that same year was Southland Corp. v. Keating, a case preempting state arbitration laws that even administrative lawyers may have ignored.
Read morePete Alonso’s next big challenge toward Mets greatness
Already, there are hints that Alonso can take the baton from David Wright and become the next Mets captain. It might behoove the Mets to follow the course they took with Wright early in his career and after this season (if one is played) and buy out Alonso’s arbitration eligibility, extending his contract through the first two or three years he would receive on a free-agent deal.
Read moreNTDC to seek Rs714m from Iran firm under ICC award
The ICC announced its decision on April 24 in the international commercial arbitration initiated by the Iranian company in 2017 before a tribunal constituted under the ICC’s rules.
Read moreFifth Circuit: Arbitrator Properly Interpreted Arbitration Agreement To Allow For Collective Claims
Consistent with the terms of the arbitration agreement at issue, an hourly fuel tech and driver is entitled to arbitrate collective claims alleging that his employer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the federal appeals court in New Orleans has ruled. Sun Coast Resources Inc. v. Roy Conrad, No. 19-20058 (5th Cir. Apr. 16, 2020). This decision highlights the critical need for employers to ensure careful drafting of arbitration agreements.
Read moreSupreme Court won’t send St. Louis to arbitration with Rams
Supreme Court won’t send St. Louis to arbitration with Rams
Read moreJudicial heavyweights call for 'breathing space' to save dispute resolution system
Lord Phillips, another former Supreme Court president, as saying 'parties should consider mediation, and conciliation should be encouraged at an early stage of legal proceedings'.
Read moreHong Kong Introduces COVID-19 Online Dispute Resolution Scheme
The Hong Kong Government has announced a series of measures to support individuals and businesses affected by COVID-19. With regards to the legal sector, the COVID-19 Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Scheme is planned to be launched in June 2020. In the meantime, preliminary information concerning the operation of the ODR Scheme has been provided by the Secretary for Justice.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, an upsurge in disputes related to the outbreak has been anticipated. In order to “provide speedy and cost-effective means to resolve such disputes, especially for those involving micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) that may be adversely affected or hard hit by the pandemic,” the ODR Scheme intends to cover COVID-19 disputes for claims up to HK$500,000.
Read moreThoughts on ADR in the face of the Covid-19 Pandemic – A Neutral’s Perspective
As we are all challenged by the current pandemic, it strikes me that alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is perhaps no longer an alternative to traversing the court system, but rather the only viable method for the expeditious resolution of disputes.
Read moreArbitration Agreements Lacking Employer’s Signature Can Be Enforceable, Says Texas Appellate Court (US)
…a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the First District Court of Texas held that an employer could compel a former employee to arbitrate her wrongful termination case, even though it had not signed the arbitration agreement, because the evidence demonstrated that the employer intended to be bound by the agreement and there was no evidence that the parties intended for the employer’s signature to be a condition precedent to the contract’s enforcement.
Read moreINSIGHT: Best Practices for Conducting Remote Arbitration Hearings
Most businesses must now connect virtually, due to the coronavirus pandemic, and arbitration hearings are no exception. We were one week into a two-week arbitration hearing when New York City shut down, forcing the hearing to conclude via video. Video hearings may be the future of arbitration—at least in the short term.
Attorneys need to think about important considerations and best practices for conducting a hearing via video. This article also addresses applicable arbitral institution rules (or lack thereof) and discusses why this area is ripe for consideration by these institutions.
Judge Confirms $1.4M Arbitration Award in Contract Dispute
A federal judge in Pennsylvania has confirmed a $1.4 million arbitration award resolving a contractual dispute between a nationally recognized securities rating organization (NRSRO) and its exclusive distributor of ratings services.
Read moreArbitration? Court says not so fast.
Card v. Wells Fargo, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45117 (D. Or. March 16, 2020), relying on Section 4 of the Federal Arbitration Act, the court deferred ruling on Defendant’s motion to compel arbitration, finding that an evidentiary hearing or jury trial is required to determine whether a valid arbitration agreement exists.
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