Justia Arbitration & Mediation Opinion Summaries

Vinmar appealed a judgment confirming an arbitration panel award to Tricon for damages and post-award interest on those damages at 8.5% because Vinmar breached a contract. Vinmar claimed that the parties never agreed to arbitrate and Tricon cross-appealed, contending that the district court improperly granted postjudgment interest at the statutory rate instead of the rate assigned by the arbitrators. The court concluded that the evidence conclusively demonstrated that Tricon and Vinmar reached a binding agreement to arbitrate even though they did not sign the contract. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. The court also affirmed the award and concluded that the arbitrators in this case did not award postjudgment interest, but post-award interest. View "Tricon Energy Ltd. v. Vinmar Int'l, Ltd." on Justia Law

The beneficiary of an inter vivos trust sued the trustee for misappropriation of trust assets and failing to provide an accounting to the trust's beneficiaries. The trustee moved to compel arbitration, relying an arbitration provision contained in the trust. The trial court denied the motion. The court of appeals affirmed, concluding that the provision could not be enforced under the Texas Arbitration Act (TAA) because there was no agreement to arbitrate trust disputes. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the arbitration provision contained in the trust was enforceable against the beneficiary, as (1) the settlor's intent here was to arbitrate any disputes over the trust; and (2) the beneficiary's acceptance of the benefits of the trust and suit to enforce its terms constituted the assent required to form an enforceable agreement to arbitrate under the TAA. Remanded. View "Rachal v. Reitz" on Justia Law

In 2008, Regents Bank issued two loans to Appellant. After Appellant failed to repay either loan, Regents filed a complaint in district court for breach of contract and judicial foreclosure. The district court stayed the proceedings and compelled arbitration as provided in the loan documents. The arbitrator ultimately ruled in Regents' favor. The district court confirmed the arbitration award and later entered an amended judgment and order of sale. Appellant appealed, arguing (1) Regents employed undue means in procuring the award, and (2) the arbitrator manifestly disregarded the law in refusing to void one of the loans. The Supreme Court affirmed the district court's order confirming the arbitration award, holding (1) Appellant failed to satisfy his burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the award was procured through intentionally misleading conduct; and (2) the arbitrator's refusal to void one of the loans was not a manifest disregard of the law. View "Sylver v. Regents Bank, N.A." on Justia Law

Homeowner attended a first Foreclosure Mediation Program (FMP) mediation with Citimortgage, after which Defendant was denied a loan modification. The district court subsequently ordered a second mediation. PennyMac Corp. later obtained beneficial interest in the deed of trust and promissory note and attended the second mediation. The mediator determined that PennyMac failed to bring the promissory note, deed of trust, and other documents to the mediation and that PennyMac's representative lacked authority to negotiate. Homeowner filed a petition for judicial review, requesting sanctions, attorney fees, and a judicially imposed loan modification. The district court imposed sanctions against PennyMac but declined to impose a loan modification or monetary sanctions beyond the amount of attorney fees. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Homeowner had standing to challenge the district court's order on appeal; and (2) the district court acted within its discretion in denying an FMP certificate and in determining sanctions. View " Jacinto v. PennyMac Corp." on Justia Law

This case arose out of the payment of benefits pursuant to an Aflac accident insurance policy. Defendant and the decedent's siblings challenged the district court's entry of summary judgment and order compelling arbitration of defendant's claims against Aflac and its agents. At issue was whether defendant's affidavit, which included her opinion that the signature on the arbitration acknowledgment form was a forgery, was sufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact. The court concluded that defendant's affidavit was never made part of the summary judgment record before the district court and therefore failed to create a genuine issue of material fact on the authenticity of the decedent's signature. Accordingly, the court affirmed the district court's judgment. View "American Family Life Assurance Co. of Columbus v. Biles, et al" on Justia Law

A law firm filed suit against two former employees. Both defendants filed motions to compel arbitration. The trial court stayed discovery except as to the issue of whether the cases were subject to arbitration. The court subsequently ordered the parties to engage in mediation and to disclose the "necessary documents to conduct a meaningful attempt at resolution" despite the prior order limiting discovery. The defendants filed a motion to vacate the order requiring arbitration, which the trial court and court of appeals denied. The Supreme Court vacated the order of the trial court and remanded for a determination on the motions to compel arbitration, holding that the trial court (1) erred in ordering discovery without limiting the scope of discovery to the issue of arbitrability in contravention of the Tennessee Uniform Arbitration Act; and (2) erred in referring the parties to mediation in an effort to resolve all issues. View "Glassman, Edwards, Wyatt, Tuttle & Cox, P.C. v. Wade" on Justia Law

An investor pursued a claim against an investment company over losses he incurred due to the failure of some of the company's bond funds. A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel ruled in the investor's favor. The investment company subsequently petitioned the chancery court to vacate the award based on the alleged bias of two members of the arbitration panel. The trial court vacated the award and remanded for a second arbitration before a new panel. The court of appeals dismissed the investor's appeal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because the trial court's order did not expressly confirm or deny the arbitration award. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the trial court's order was, in fact, an appealable order "denying confirmation" of an arbitration award under Tenn. Code Ann. 29-5-319(a)(3). Remanded. View "Morgan Keegan & Co. v. Smythe" on Justia Law

This case involved a dispute between the R.I. Department of Corrections (DOC) and the certified bargaining unit for correctional officers and other DOC employees (the union). The dispute arose from the DOC's proposal to modify the weapons qualification component of the training program for correctional officers. The union filed a grievance, arguing that the training program could not modified without the approval of a training committee that had been created under the parties' collective bargaining agreement (CBA). An arbitrator ruled in the union's favor. The superior confirmed the arbitration award. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) this dispute was arbitrable; and (2) the arbitration award must stand because the arbitrator's interpretation of the CBA was passably plausible, did not reflect a manifest disregard for the law, and was not irrational. View "State Dep't of Corr. v. R.I. Brotherhood of Corr. Officers" on Justia Law

AEGIS, an insurer, appealed from the district court's denial of its motion to compel alternative dispute resolution in its dispute with UEC. The court agreed with the district court that by agreeing in the endorsement of the contract to submit to the jurisdiction of Missouri state courts, AEGIS agreed to have any dispute relating to the insurance or to the claim resolved in those courts. Thus, the endorsement entirely supplanted the condition's mandatory arbitration provision. Even if the policy as a whole were ambiguous as to the mandatory arbitration, the court concluded that UEC would still prevail because it would be entitled to have the ambiguity resolved in its favor. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "Union Electric Co. v. AEGIS Energy Syndicate 1225" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs filed a class action complaint against a check advance company, asserting claims based on numerous Florida statutes. Plaintiffs later amended the complaint to add Tiffany Kelly as an additional plaintiff and named class member. Because Kelly had signed the version of Defendant's arbitration agreement that contained a class action waiver, this case focused on her contracts with Defendant. The trial court eventually denied Defendant's motion to compel arbitration, ruling that the class action waiver was unenforceable because it was void as against public policy. The court of appeal affirmed, finding that no other reasonable avenue for relief would be available if it enforced the class action waiver. After the court of appeal decided this case, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in AT&T Mobility, LLC v. Concepcion. Applying the rationale of Concepcion to the facts set forth in this case, the Supreme Court quashed the court of appeal's decision, holding that the Federal Arbitration Act preempted invalidating the class action waiver in this case on the basis of the waiver being void as against public policy. View "McKenzie Check Advance of Fla., LLC v. Betts" on Justia Law