Amazon Sellers Attorney, a lawyer-supervised suspension appeal service, announced today that a Washington arbitrator has denied Amazon.com (AMZN) the right to retain a customer’s gift card balance after cancellation of his account. In an arbitration against Amazon Services, LLC brought by Wesley Nahm, the arbitrator awarded over $100,000 in gift card proceeds after Amazon cancelled the buyer’s account. Amazon claimed that it reasonably suspected that Nahm either obtained or applied gift card balances fraudulently, unlawfully, or in violation of the Gift Card Terms. However, Amazon presented no evidence to support its suspicions other than an unusually large balance and the large number of refunded transactions.
Read moreICSID releases statistics for record year 2020
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID”) has released case statistics for 2020 (available here) showing a record number of new cases. While the figures confirm that the Covid-19 pandemic has not so far significantly affected the nature of those disputes, other changes – such as a shift to virtual hearings – are likely to affect investment arbitration in 2021 and beyond.
Read moreHow the Supreme Court Protects Robinhood
Last week, the stock market had its worst week since October, but if you had GameStop stock, you were feeling pretty good. It grew 400 percent, fueled by the Reddit page r/WallStreetBets, where members bought stocks of companies that appeared on the way down, inflating their prices and putting the hedge fund managers who had shorted the stock in a bad position.
Read moreCalifornia appellate court concludes lender’s arbitration provision unenforceable
On January 11, the Court of Appeals of the State of California affirmed the denial of an auto lender’s motion to compel arbitration, concluding that the arbitration clause was invalid and unenforceable. According to the opinion, in May 2019, consumers filed a class action complaint alleging the lenders charged unconscionable interest rates in violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL) and Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA). The company moved to compel arbitration, which the consumers opposed, arguing that the agreement was “procedurally and substantively unconscionable,” and that the California Supreme Court decision in McGill v. Citibank, N.A. (covered by a Buckley Special Alert here, holding that a waiver of the plaintiff’s substantive right to seek public injunctive relief is not enforceable) applied. The trial court denied the motion to compel arbitration, concluding that the McGill rule applied and that the injunctive relief provision could not be severed from the rest of the arbitration agreement because severability did not apply to the class waiver provision.
Read moreDisputes against governments under investment treaties: a growing trend in the mining industry in 2020
A commitment of capital in a foreign state, particularly with long-term profit horizons, can be a risky undertaking. When a host state harms a foreign company's investment, the domestic legal system may not provide an adequate remedy. For example, an investor may not wish to settle disputes before a host state's domestic courts for reasons of (i) fear of bias; or (ii) unfamiliarity with the domestic legal system.
Read moreWhen will an arbitration clause apply to bill of exchange disputes?
In the recent case of T v W, HCA 366/2020, the Plaintiff had commenced court proceedings against the Defendant for HK$5 million plus interest payable under a post-dated cheque drawn by the Defendant. The Defendant applied to stay the proceedings to arbitration, relying on the arbitration clause in the Loan Agreement that referred to the cheque. The Court dismissed the application for a stay, holding that the Plaintiff’s claim was on the cheque and that the cause of action on a cheque is separate to the cause of action on the underlying contract. It said that there must be a “plain manifestation” in an arbitration clause that it is to apply to bills of exchange, before the presumption against taking bills of exchange into arbitration is to be rebutted. The Court was not satisfied that the arbitration clause in the Loan Agreement could be construed to extend to the claims made under the cheque, which it considered to be a separate agreement.
Read moreFinancial Industry Regulatory Authority Arbitration of Employment Disputes
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) is an independent regulatory body, overseeing securities firms and their brokers and other registered personnel. Arbitration of employment disputes in the arbitration forum sponsored by the FINRA offers a number of industry-specific or unique considerations. Accordingly, employers should understand the risks and potential rewards of arbitrating in the FINRA arbitration forum and seek counsel from experienced FINRA practitioners.
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