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Delaware Federal Court Must Abide By The Parties Decision To Delegate The Arbitrability Of The Dispute To The Arbitrator Even If The Arbitration Agreement Is Irrelevant To The Dispute
The topic of whether an arbitrator or a court should decide the question of arbitrability has been the subject of long-standing debate among international scholars and practitioners. In First Options of Chicago Inc. v. Kaplan, the Supreme Court stated the general rule that “[c]ourts should not assume that the parties agreed to arbitrate arbitrability unless there is ‘clear and unmistakabl[e]’ evidence that they did so.” 514 U.S. 938. But what constitutes clear and unmistakable evidence of the intent to arbitrate arbitrability?
The U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware recently provided an example of an arbitration clause that contains such “clear and unmistakable” evidence to delegate questions of arbitrability to an arbitrator. In Nidec Corporation v. Seagate Technology LLC, Civ. Action No. 21-52 (D. Del. July 20, 2021), Nidec Corporation (“Nidec”) brought a patent infringement action against Seagate Technology LLC (“Seagate”) and other defendants. Seagate, relying on the arbitration clause in the parties’ agreement, moved to compel arbitration. Seagate argued that the arbitration clause requires the Court to delegate to an arbitrator the decision whether the agreement applies to the claims at issue. Seagate relied on the following language in the agreement:
If the parties are unable to resolve any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement, including the formation, interpretation, breach or termination thereof, whether the dispute, controversy or claim asserted is able to be arbitrated … then either party will have the option to request that the dispute be finally determined by arbitration in accordance with the JAMS International Arbitration Rules.
Nidec argued that it only agreed to arbitrate disputes that arise under the agreement and Seagate should not be allowed to compel arbitration by declaring that each dispute between the parties is a dispute arising out of or relating to the agreement. …
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Oksana Wright will be speaking at NSCP National Conference
ALL-Legal, Compliance and Risk Responsibilities During Strategic Corporate Transactions
National Harbor, Maryland
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N.Y. Amends Law on Recognition of Foreign Judgments
Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law on June 14 legislation that amended Article 53 of the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules (“CPLR”), changing the rules regarding the state’s…
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A Review: State-Law Principles Allowing A Nonsignatory to Enforce an Arbitration Provision Against a Signatory May Be Applied to International Contracts Governed by the New York Convention
In cases involving contracts between U.S. companies, courts frequently allow a nonsignatory to a contract to enforce an arbitration provision in the contract against a signatory, when the signatory to…
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Update on Badgerow Petition for Certiorari: Supreme Court to Review Standard for Determining Federal Court Jurisdiction Over Motions to Confirm or Vacate Arbitration Awards
The Supreme Court has granted certiorari on an issue involving domestic arbitration that has divided the federal courts of appeal (Badgerow v. Walters, Docket No. 20-1143):
Do federal…
The D.C. District Court Allows State Sponsored Tribunal to Seek Discovery in Federal Court under 28 USC § 1782(a)
As the U.S. Supreme Court currently considers the issue of whether a private international arbitration constitutes a “foreign or international tribunal” within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 1782(a), the…
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Petition Seeks Supreme Court Review of Standard for Determining Federal Court Jurisdiction Over Motions to Confirm or Vacate Arbitration Awards
An employee of a Louisiana financial service company who lost in an employment-related arbitration is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve an arbitration-related issue that has divided the circuit…
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Insolvency and Arbitration Proceedings – Are They So Happy Together?
Insolvency proceedings can create potential roadblocks for arbitration proceedings that require careful navigation. Arbitration proceedings are private contractual proceedings intended to resolve individual claims. In contrast, insolvency proceedings are public…
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Fox Rothschild’s Attorneys Publish Law360 Article On Recent ICDR Updates
Erika Levin, Oksana Wright and Michael Lieberman discuss, in a Law360 article, new Article 21 of the 2021 ICDR Rules, which specifically reinforces the tribunal’s authority to rule on…
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