North Carolina Lawyers Weekly
Although G.S. § 22B-10 says it is unconscionable and unenforceable for a contract to require a party to waive his right to a jury trial, the statute goes on to say that it does not prohibit parties from entering ...
Read More »Arbitration – Jury Trial Right – Litigation Participation – Attorney’s Fees
Arbitration – Skilled Nursing Home – Attorney-in-Fact – No Fiduciary Duty 
Although licensed memory wards possess special knowledge and skill concerning the care of those afflicted with cognitive impairments, the court declines plaintiff’s invitation to create a de jure fiduciary relationship between assisted living facilities with memory wards and their residents. ...
Read More »Arbitration – Agreement was insurance contract, arbitration clause void
Having determined that the policies at issue constituted an insurance contract under Virginia law, the court said a private day school was not required to submit its dispute to arbitration because the agreement containing the arbitration clause is part of ...
Read More »Arbitration – Civil Practice – Interlocutory Appeal – FAA
In N. Carolina Elec. Membership Corp. v. Duke Power Co., 95 N.C. App. 123, 381 S.E.2d 896 (1989), we held that an order compelling arbitration under the North Carolina Revised Uniform Arbitration Act did not affect a substantial right and ...
Read More »Arbitration – Arbitrability – AAA Rules – Carve-out Issues – Judicial Decision
Where an arbitration clause both incorporates American Arbitration Association rules – which reserve questions of arbitrability to the arbitrator – and exempts certain claims from arbitration, and where all of plaintiff’s causes of action relate to the carved-out claims, it ...
Read More »Arbitration – Ambiguous Clause – Public Policy
Where the parties’ arbitration clause is ambiguous, we must defer to North Carolina’s strong policy favoring arbitration. We reverse the trial court’s order, which denied defendant’s motion to compel arbitration, and we remand for entry of an order compelling arbitration. ...
Tagged with: Public Policy
Read More »Arbitration – Shareholders Agreement – Majority Owner – AAA Rules – Arbitrability
This dispute turns on who is the majority owner of a corporation. Where the arbitration clause in the corporation’s shareholders agreement clearly adopts the Commercial Rules of the American Arbitration Association, it is up to the arbitrator to decide whether ...
Tagged with: AAA rules
Read More »Arbitration – Attorneys – Fee Dispute – Stipulations – Retainer Contract & Amendment
Holding: Even though the parties stipulated that the Sept. 14, 2011, disbursement of settlement funds was done pursuant to their March 2010 retainer agreement, the arbitrator could nevertheless consider the plaintiff-clients’ evidence that the parties had modified the retainer agreement ...
Tagged with: Attorneys
Read More »Arbitration – Decision reserving judgment was not “final”
Holding: A written decision resulting from the parties’ agreed-upon dispute-resolution process was not a “final” decision under the Federal Arbitration Act because it reserved the decision-maker’s right – without time limitation – to change the decision if its underlying assumptions ...
Tagged with: final
Read More »Arbitration – Non-Signatory – Tort Claims – Construction Subcontract
Smith Jamison Construction v. APAC-Atlantic, Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-039-18, 12 pp.) (John Tyson, J.) Appealed from Forsyth County Superior Court (Susan Bray, J.) N.C. App. Holding: Plaintiff’s claims against defendant Yates Construction Co. – the company that replaced plaintiff ...
Tagged with: Tort Claims Act
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