From the Editor's Desk
by: David M. S. Shaiken
Reid and Riege, P.C; Hartford, Conn.
The first quarter of 2006 has brought with it the ADR Committee’s revitalization of the ADR Committee Newsletter. I thought it would be good to start us off by introducing the newsletter to members and also telling you a bit about myself.
The newsletter, to be published three or four times per year, is designed to highlight both practical and legal issues of importance to practitioners of ADR in the bankruptcy and insolvency communities and, I hope, to stimulate thought and discussion. In addition, I hope to highlight the work of the ADR Committee, as well as the accomplishments of its members.
Summary of Bankruptcy / ADR Cases
by: Kyung S. Lee
Diamond McCarthy Taylor Finley & Lee, LLP; Houston
Erin E. Jones
Diamond McCarthy Taylor Finley & Lee, LLP; Houston
A Challenge to the Validity of a Contract as a Whole, and Not Specifically to the Arbitration Clause Within It, Must Go to the Arbitrator, Not the Court, Even if the Contract Is Later Found to Be Void
In Buckeye Check Cashing Inc. v. Cardegna, 546 U.S. ____, 126 S.Ct. 1204 (Feb. 21, 2006), respondents received cash in exchange for a personal check in the amount of the cash plus a finance charge. For each of these deferred-payment transactions that respondents entered into with Buckeye, they signed an agreement containing a mandatory arbitration provision. Respondents sued in Florida state court, alleging that Buckeye charged usurious interest rates and that the agreement violated various Florida laws, rendering it criminal – and thus invalid – on its face. The court reaffirmed and consolidated its holdings in Prima Paint Corp. v. Flood & Conklin Mfg. Co., 388 U.S. 395 (1967), and Southland Corp. v. Keating, 465 U.S. 1 (1984).