Recent Posts

The US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, acting in a long-running contract dispute between an American shipbuilder and the Republic of Venezuela, has held that the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) might permit a District Court, in proper circumstances and with sufficient statement of justification, to compel arbitration at a place of arbitration other than the one established in the contract, or to deny enforcement of the arbitration clause entirely based on political conditions at the agreed place of arbitration. Northrop Grumman Ship Systems Inc. v. Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Venezuela, 2009 U. S. App. LEXIS 15260 (5th…
Read More »

The U. S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has held that an arbitration agreement between a foreign seaman and his U.S. employer, proving for arbitration outside the U.S. under foreign law, was null and void becuase it prospectively waived the seaman’s rights under the federal Seamen’s Wage Act. Thomas v. Carnival Corp., 2009 U. S. App. LEXIS 14406 (11th Cir. July 1, 2009). In Thomas, the court of appeals relied centrally on the much-discussed footnote dictum of the U. S. Supreme Court in Mitsubishi Motor Corp. v. Soler Chrysler-Plymouth, 473 U. S. 614 (1985). The Mitsubishi footnote states…
Read More »

With at least some United States district courts willing to consider discovery assistance to foreign arbitral tribunals, developments in the law concerning such discovery are of considerable interest. Some recent U. S. cases deserve mention. In Marubeni Am. Corp. v LBA Y.K., 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 12953 (2d Cir. June 19, 2009), the federal appeals court in New York affirmed a district court’s order granting a request to obtain discovery from a non-party witness, made by a party to litigation pending in Japan. In Marubeni, the party opposing discovery argued that the district court had abused its discretion by granting…
Read More »

Some readers of these Commentaries may find it useful to have ready access to a profile of my international arbitration experience. I seek to provide that here. Representative International Arbitrations as Arbitrator +ICDR case concerning interests in real estate trust. Parties US, Netherlands, Israel. Chairperson of tribunal. +ICDR case concerning investment banking compensation agreement. Parties US, China. Sole arbitrator. +ICDR case concerning breach of investment management agreement. Parties US, Saudi. Co-arbitrator. +ICDR case concerning breach of industrial machinery contract. Parties: US, Canada Representative International Arbitrations as Counsel + ICDR case in New York re price determination in acquisition agreement. Canadian…
Read More »

The Supreme Court of the United States today granted certiorari to review a decision of the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Stolt-Nielsen Transp. Group Ltd. v. Animalfeeds International Corp., 543 F.3d 85 (2d Cir. 2008), in which the Court OF Appeals continued to recognize the existence of “manifest disregard of the law” as a possible basis to set aside an arbitration award, and did so after express consideration of the doubts raised by the Supreme Court’s decision in Hall Street Associates v. Mattel, Inc., 128 S. Ct. 4936. But the question presented for Supreme Court review…
Read More »

The following commentary has been prepared for publication in Canada and will shortly be published there in both English and French. However, the discussion of U.S. law in this commentary is certainly not limited to enforcement of awards involving Canadian parties. Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards in the U.S.: A Primer by Marc J. Goldstein Introduction As Canadian companies, and Canadian arbitrators, participate more often in international arbitrations, they have naturally become eager to know more about enforcement of awards outside Canada, and particularly in the United States. The reasons for this interest in the procedures for award enforcement are…
Read More »