North America Archives

In North America

Florida district court holds that Federal Arbitration Act grounds for vacatur are inapplicable to an international arbitration award governed by the New York Convention

August 10, 2020 by Jacob Kaplan 3 Mins Read

Corporación AIC SA v. Hidroelectrica Santa Rita SA, No. 19-20294-CV (S.D. Fla. Apr. 16, 2020) [click for opinion] Corporación AIC, S.A. (“Petitioner”) and Hidroelectrica Santa Rita, S.A. (“Respondent”) entered into an Engineering, Procurement and Construction Agreement (the “Contract”). Pursuant to the Contract, Respondent engaged Petitioner for the full turnkey design, engineering, procurement, construction, start-up, and commissioning of a hydroelectric power plant on the Icbolay River in Guatemala. The power plant project was not supported by the…

In North America

New York’s highest court holds that arbitration panel did not exceed its authority by reconsidering a partial final award

July 28, 2020 by David Zaslowsky and Eugenie Rogers 4 Mins Read

Am. Int’l Spec. Lines Ins. Co. v. Allied Capital Corp., No. 23 (N.Y. Apr. 30, 2020) [click for…

In North America

Fifth Circuit affirms dismissal of damages claims against arbitrators and the American Arbitration Association; holds that the sole basis for attacking an arbitration award is under the Federal Arbitration Act

July 23, 2020 by David Zaslowsky and Maria Piontkovska 3 Mins Read

Texas Brine Co. v. Am. Arbitration Assc., No. 18-CV-31184 (5th Cir. Apr. 7, 2020) [click for opinion] Texas…

In All time favorite

Arbitration Statistics 2019- How did arbitration institutions fare in 2019?

July 15, 2020 by Dr. Markus Altenkirch and Brigitta John Vallickad 3 Mins Read

The International Chamber of Commerce (“ICC”) recently published its full statistical report for the year 2019,[1] which revealed a slight increase in the number of arbitration cases registered with the ICC’s International Court of Arbitration in 2019, as compared to 2018. As we have done in previous years,[2] we compare the caseload statistics of various arbitral institutions over the past few years in this article, and we analyze whether the popularity of arbitration continues to…

In Arbitration Procedure

Second Circuit holds that section 1782 discovery is not available in aid of private international commercial arbitration, cementing the Circuit split on the issue

July 10, 2020 by David Zaslowsky 7 Mins Read

In Re Application of Hanwei Guo for an Order to Take Discovery for Use in a Foreign Proceeding…

In Arbitrability

Florida state appellate court rules on issue of arbitrability

July 6, 2020 by 4 Mins Read

In Doe v. Natt, No. 2D19-1383 (Fla. 2d DCA Mar. 25, 2020) [click for opinion], a Texas couple,…

In Arbitration Procedure

ICDR Y&I Online Debate – Virtual Hearings and Cybersecurity in International Arbitration

June 23, 2020 by Dr. Markus Altenkirch and Brigitta John Vallickad 1 Min Read

Baker & McKenzie will be “hosting” the ICDR Y&I online debate on virtual hearings and cybersecurity, on Wednesday, July 24 at 11:00 am ET (5:00 pm CET). The debate teams will square-off on the following topics: Virtual hearings should remain the exception rather than the norm.Arbitral institutions must do more to address cyber-security risks in international arbitration. The debate will be in the style of the very lively Coffeehouse Debate held every year in Vienna…

In Arbitration Agreements

Resolving Circuit Split, US Supreme Court Unanimously Rules That New York Convention Does Not Prohibit Non-Signatories from Compelling Arbitration

June 22, 2020 by Matthew Allison 4 Mins Read

On June 1, 2020, in GE Energy Power Conversion France SAS, Corp. v. Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC, the…

In Arbitration Procedure

Three Ways To Let Arbitrators Control International Arbitration Discovery

June 12, 2020 by David Zaslowsky 12 Mins Read

Section 1782 of Title 28 of the U.S. Code is a very powerful tool that authorizes the obtaining…

In Arbitration Procedure

New York District court denies request to vacate arbitration award

April 8, 2020 by David Zaslowsky 4 Mins Read

In Galilea, LLC v. AGCS Marine Ins. Co., No. 19-CV-05768 (VEC) (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 16, 2019), Petitioners, Galilea, LLC and Christopher Kittler, owners of a 60-foot yacht, sought to vacate an arbitration award entered in favor of Respondents/Cross-Petitioners, AGCS Marine Insurance Company, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, and Starstone National Insurance Company. The arbitration was the result of the grounding of Petitioners’ yacht in Panamanian waters. After Respondents denied Petitioners’ request for insurance coverage, Respondents initiated an…