PIABA’s third report in over five years says the problem of unpaid FINRA awards is getting worse, not better. The Report, FINRA Arbitration’s Persistent Unpaid Award Problem, was announced in a September 29 Press Release, PIABA – 30% of 2020 FINRA Arbitration Awards Went Unpaid, and via a 24-minute Zoom event. The headlines? “The percentage of unpaid customer awards in FINRA arbitration…
A split Ninth Circuit has finally ruled on the validity of AB-51, which would restrict predispute arbitration clauses (“PDAA”) in employment relationships. The mandatory PDAA preclusions in the new law withstand Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) preemption scrutiny, but the criminal and civil penalties for mandatory PDAA use do not. We sometimes wonder whether courts read…
FINRA Dispute Resolution Services (“DRS”) on September 17 announced an updated COVID-19 vaccination policy. Effective October 4, all in-person participants must be fully vaccinated to attend hearings. There will be a “proof of negative PCR test” exception through November 19, except in Florida – where the exemption will continue indefinitely. Here is the policy in its entirety (footnotes are…
It’s been a while since FINRA temporarily withdrew its expungement rule change proposal. We thought it was time to check in. Spoiler alert: not much going on as far as we can see, but looks may be deceiving. We reported in SAA 2021-22 (Jun. 3) that, on the last day for SEC review of FINRA’s latest proposal…
Just a month out from oral argument, Servotronics has notified the Court that it is dismissing its Certiorari Petition. That leaves Badgerow v. Walters, No. 20-1143, which has been set for oral argument on November 2, as the only arbitration-centric case on the Court’s hearing docket. One of the late Gilda Radner’s many characters was Emily Litella, who would give misguided…
Consumer advocate and mandatory arbitration critic Barbara Roper has joined the SEC’s senior staff. What this may mean for FINRA Dispute Resolution Services (“DRS”) remains to be seen. SEC Chair Gary Gensler announced on August 25 that veteran consumer advocate Barbara Roper would be joining the Commission’s senior staff. A Press Release states: “The Commission today announced the appointment of Barbara Roper as…
In what we are certain is a reaction to a flurry of multiple individual arbitrations that relate to the same event, the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) has created Supplementary Rules for Multiple Case Filings (“Supplementary Rules”) effective August 1. We have reported several times on cases holding that companies such as Amazon and Postmates have been compelled to…
The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit holds that Uber Technologies Inc. drivers are not engaged in interstate commerce under a nationwide standard and must arbitrate their claims. Capriole. v. Uber Technologies Inc., No. 20-16030 (9th Cir. Feb. 2, 2021), involves the issue of whether Uber Technologies Inc. (“Uber”) drivers are engaged in foreign or interstate…
SCOTUS again has eschewed an opportunity to clear up the split over the Federal Arbitration Act’s (“FAA”) section 1 exemption for workers engaged in commerce, this time by refusing to reconsider its prior Certiorari denial. As reported in SAA 2021-24 (Jun. 24), the Supreme Court on June 21 denied Amazon’s January 29 Petition for Certiorari in Waithaka v. Amazon.com, Inc., No. 19-1848 (1st Cir. Jul….
The SEC has approved an omnibus rule filing strengthening investor protection from at-risk firms and brokers. Addressing unpaid Awards is a major focus. Readers may recall that we reported in SAA 2019-18 (May 8) that FINRA had issued a Regulatory Notice seeking comments on rule changes aimed at better protecting investors from firms with significant…