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Strategy of the Day: Variations in State Arbitration Law
The Federal Arbitration Act preempts state arbitration law, but not entirely. State law that is inconsistent on the FAA’s rules about when an agreement to arbitrate is enforceable or about when awards must be enforced are preempted. But state law that relates to some procedural matters in arbitration is not preempted even when the FAA……
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Update: the Briefs in Chiejina v. Nigeria
I reported on the decision denying a jurisdictional motion to dismiss in Chiejina v. Nigeria, an award enforcement case I’m handling, back in August 2022. The dispute involved breaches of a contract for construction of gully erosion control structures in Nigeria’s Imo state. The parties have now filed their briefs in the DC Circuit (Nigeria’s……
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Case of the Day: In re Alpene
The case of the day is In re Alpene, Ltd. (E.D.N.Y. 2022). Alpene, a Hong Kong corporation, had a treaty arbitration claim against Malta, and it arbitration under ICSID arbitration. It sought discovery from Elizabeth McCaul, a New Yorker, under Section 1782. The case raises a question left open in the Supreme Court’s ZF Automotive……
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Case of the Day: Chiejina v. Nigeria
The case of the day is Chiejina v. Nigeria (D.D.C. 2022). I’m counsel to the petitioners, Peter Chiejina and PICCOL Nigeria Ltd. PICCOL, a Nigerian engineering firm, had a contract with the Nigerian government for the construction of gully erosion control structures in Imo State. The contract contained the following agreement to arbitrate: Any dispute,……
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Case of the Day: Preble-Rish Haiti S.A. v. Republic of Haiti
The case of the day is Preble-Rish Haiti S.A. v. Republic of Haiti (5th Cir. 2022). Preble-Rish had a contract for delivery of fuel with the Haitian government. When a dispute arose, it demanded arbitration in New York. Haiti refused to participate, and the parties cross-moved to compel and to stay the arbitration in the……