United states 9 supreme court justices

(1) The Enforceability of Class Action Waivers in Arbitration Agreements Following the Court’s ruling in 2011 in ATT Mobility LLC v. Concepcion1, where the Court in a 5-4 decision held that the Federal Arbitration Act preempted California from refusing to enforce class action waivers in consumer contracts, many employers have utilized waivers in arbitration agreements as a method of avoiding, or reducing, the risks of class or collective actions by employees alleging employment-related claims such as wage-and-hour violations and unlawful discrimination. … [Read more...] about Impact of Presidential Election on Key United States Supreme Court Cases

The United States Supreme Court is not amused. Only last week, it in effect took the Kentucky Supreme Court to task for failing to give an arbitration agreement the same legal respect that would be given to other contracts, and indeed for doing so based on the essential nature of an arbitration agreement.  See Kindred Nursing Centers L.P. v. Clark, 2017 U.S. LEXIS 2948 (May 15, 2017).  In Kindred, the U.S. Supreme Court condemned a Kentucky Supreme Court decision that disfavored an arbitration agreement because of its defining feature – i.e., in choosing arbitration, the parties exclude a jury trial as a means of dispute resolution.  The state court had held that an arbitration agreement was invalid because a power of attorney that authorized one of the parties to sign did not specifically grant the signatory the “right” to enter into an arbitration agreement, and that that was critical because such an agreement would in effect waive the … [Read more...] about State Supreme Courts Continue to Try to Chip Away at FAA Preemption; The United States Supreme Court Is Not Amused

Dirks v. SEC:  The Supreme Court Explains That A Tipper’s “Personal Gain” Is Required For Insider Trading LiabilityIn Dirks v. SEC, 463 U.S. 646 (1983), the Supreme Court held that “[n]ot only are insiders forbidden by their fiduciary relationship [to the corporation’s shareholders] from personally using undisclosed corporate information to their advantage, but they also may not give such information to an outsider for the same improper purpose of exploiting the information for their personal gain.”6  While Dirks made clear that personal gain was an essential element of proving liability in an insider trading case involving tipping, Dirks and its progeny have left unclear what constitutes sufficient evidence of such gain.  The personal gain is clearest when an insider shares material, nonpublic information with an outsider in exchange for a pecuniary benefit.  Yet, in other instances, an insider may “gift” such … [Read more...] about Getting By With a Little Help From Friends: United States Supreme Court to Clarify Insider Trading Liability in Tipping Cases

Defendant National Australia Bank, Ltd. (“National”) is headquartered in Australia. Its “ordinary shares” are traded exclusively on non-U.S. stock exchanges. In 1998, National purchased defendant HomeSide Lending, Inc. (“HomeSide”), a mortgage servicing company headquartered in Florida. From 1998-2001, National touted the success of HomeSide. In 2001, however, National announced significant write downs in HomeSide’s assets. Plaintiffs — all Australians, who sought to represent a class comprised solely of foreign investors — brought suit against National, HomeSide, and certain executive officers (including some operating out of Florida), alleging that HomeSide manipulated its financial models to make the company’s mortgage servicing rights appear more valuable than they really were. Plaintiffs originally brought suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, … [Read more...] about United States Supreme Court Limits Extraterritorial Reach Of Private Federal Securities Claims

Plaintiffs Did Not Satisfy Their “Commonality” Burden under Rule 23(a)In a strongly worded opinion, Justice Scalia, writing for the 5–4 majority, disagreed that the Dukes plaintiffs’ evidence was sufficient to support class certification because it did not meet plaintiffs’ burden of satisfying Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requirements for certification. As recast by Justice Scalia, to meet these requirements, plaintiffs must provide “significant proof” that their class claims involve a common issue the resolution of which is “central to the validity of each one of the [class members’] claims in one stroke”; for example, discriminatory bias on the part of the same manager or the use of a discriminatory test.   … [Read more...] about United States Supreme Court Strikes Down Largest Employment Discrimination Class Action in History