Arbitrating Arbitrability: Three Recent Appellate Decisions on Delegation Clauses in Arbitration Agreements
- This summer, we discussed that the Supreme Court is reviewing whether an arbitration agreement’s clear delegation of the question of arbitrability to the arbitrator can be negated by a provision that exempts certain claims from arbitration. Henry Schein, Inc. v. Archer & White Sales,... ›
Once More Into the Jurisdictional Morass: Supreme Court Grapples With Specific Jurisdiction at Oral Argument in Ford Cases
By: Brian R. Matsui
The Supreme Court heard roughly an hour of oral argument on Wednesday in a pair of cases against Ford Motor Company raising important questions about the scope of personal jurisdiction. In Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court and Ford Motor Co.... ›Getting Specific: Supreme Court Once Again Examines Limits of Personal Jurisdiction in Ford Motor Company Cases
By: Brian R. Matsui
Despite their repeated efforts to provide guidance to lower courts, the Justices once again find themselves in a familiar position: attempting to clarify the constitutional limits on courts’ power to exercise personal jurisdiction over defendants. The Supreme Court’s docket has seen a steady stream... ›Federally-Backed Debt Collection Exception Not the Supreme Court’s Cup of T(CPA)
By: Tiffany Cheung and Tiffani B. Figueroa
Barr v. Am. Ass’n of Political Consultants, Inc. , 2020 WL 3633780, 591 U.S. __ (2020).[1] Earlier this month, the Supreme Court held, in a fractured decision yielding multiple concurring or dissenting opinions, that the 2015 government-debt exception to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act... ›U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision to Review a Pair of FTCA Cases Could Spell a Sea Change in FTC’s Enforcement Authority
By: Jessica Kaufman and Julie O'Neill
The 1914 Federal Trade Commission Act (FTCA) created the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or “the Commission”) and empowered it to prevent, and provide redress to consumers affected by, unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce. In 1973,... ›Ninth Circuit Addresses FCRA Standing Analysis and Emphasizes Importance of Remedial Measures
The Ninth Circuit recently issued an opinion addressing standing and willfulness under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). In Ramirez v. TransUnion ,[1] the Ninth Circuit affirmed a jury verdict and punitive damages award, although it reduced those damages by a third. The court... ›California Supreme Court: Civil Penalty Claims Brought by Government Under UCL and FAL Should Be Determined by Court—Not Jury
By: Claudia M. Vetesi
The California Supreme Court has confirmed that claims for civil penalties brought by government entities under California’s Unfair Competition Law (“UCL”)[1] and False Advertising Law (“FAL”)[2] should be decided by a judge—not a jury. See Nationwide Biweekly Administration Inc. et al. v. Superior Court... ›Supreme Court Grants Certiorari to Review Fourth Circuit's TCPA Decision
By: Tiffany Cheung
On January 10, 2020, the Supreme Court granted certiorari to review the Fourth Circuit’s decision to strike the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s (TCPA) “government-debt exemption.” See Am. Ass’n of Political Consultants, Inc. v. FCC , 923 F.3d 159 (4th Cir. 2019). Because this federal... ›Start Your Engines: The U.S. Supreme Court Will Yet Again Review the Constitutional Limits of Personal Jurisdiction in a Pair of Cases Involving Ford Motor Company
By: Brian R. Matsui
Lower courts’ inability or refusal to confine cases to their proper fora compels the Supreme Court to spend precious docket space restating the rules governing personal jurisdiction. The Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments limit courts’ authority to exercise personal jurisdiction... ›- - Appellate & Supreme Court, Class Certification, Product Liability, Consumer Products, Class Action
Ninth Circuit’s En Banc Hyundai Decision: Less Strict Standard For Settlement Classes
By: Penelope A. Preovolos
On June 7, 2019, an en banc Ninth Circuit panel affirmed certification of a nationwide settlement class and held, 8-3, that class certification criteria are applied less strictly in a settlement context.[1] Hyundai II preserves the ability to certify nationwide settlement classes while maintaining... ›