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Class Action Waivers in Employment-Related Arbitration Agreements
In April 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark opinion addressing whether arbitration agreements drafted to prohibit class relief are enforceable. AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 131 S.Ct. 1740 (2011) reiterated the Court's strong and consistent message that arbitration agreements must be enforced according to their terms. It emphasized in its holding that the parties' expectations must be honored even if those terms include class or collective action waivers, because “arbitration is a matter of contract.” In fact, the Concepcion Court went further and noted the incompatibility between arbitration's demonstrated efficiencies in resolving individual disputes compared with the statistical inefficiency of class relief. It concluded that class relief is inappropriate in arbitration unless the parties' agreement specifically authorizes it.
Although Concepcion arose in the consumer finance context, its analysis is not limited to any particular industry or contractual relationship. For franchisors and franchisees, the case is obviously critical to the franchise agreement itself, which often contains an arbitration agreement and may limit class relief. Whether it is a good thing that Concepcion guarantees parties the right to limit class relief in the franchise agreement likely depends on perspective. But both franchisors and franchisees are employers, and employment standards and procedures are often important terms in the franchise agreement. Employment relationships created in these agreements typically result in many employees in multiple locations. The opportunities Concepcion presents for franchisors and franchisees as employers to limit class relief in employee lawsuits cannot be ignored. As implications from the opinion continue to evolve, an employer's decision whether and how to craft enforceable arbitration agreements with employees has become more important than ever.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
Judge Rules Shaquille O'Neal Will Face Securities Lawsuit for Promotion, Sale of NFTs
A federal district court in Miami, FL, has ruled that former National Basketball Association star Shaquille O'Neal will have to face a lawsuit over his promotion of unregistered securities in the form of cryptocurrency tokens and that he was a "seller" of these unregistered securities.
Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners
Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.
Coverage Issues Stemming from Dry Cleaner Contamination Suits
In recent years, there has been a growing number of dry cleaners claiming to be "organic," "green," or "eco-friendly." While that may be true with respect to some, many dry cleaners continue to use a cleaning method involving the use of a solvent called perchloroethylene, commonly known as perc. And, there seems to be an increasing number of lawsuits stemming from environmental problems associated with historic dry cleaning operations utilizing this chemical.
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?