Spain Mexico
Philadelphia, PA Cherry Hill, NJ New York, NY Roseland, NJ 1-866-LOCKSLAW
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn
Locks Law Firm
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn
Get Started
  • No win, no fee
  • Free consultation
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • The Team
    • Office Locations
    • Newsroom
    • FAQ
  • About
    • About Us
    • The Team
    • Office Locations
    • Newsroom
    • FAQ
  • Practice Areas
  • Practice Areas
    • All Practice Areas
    • Medical Malpractice and Nursing Home Abuse
    • Environmental and Toxic Torts
    • Catastrophic Personal Injuries
    • Dangerous Drugs & Devices
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Get Started
  • Spain Mexico   Spanish
  • About
    • About Us
    • The Team
    • Office Locations
    • Newsroom
    • FAQ

    One of the most prominent personal injury law firms in the tri-state region, the Locks Law Firm is steadfastly committed to protecting the rights of seriously injured victims.

    Free Case Evaluation
  • Medical Malpractice and Nursing Home Abuse
    • Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
    • Hospital Acquired Infections
    • Medication Errors
    • Misdiagnosis / Failure to Diagnose
    • Surgical Errors
    • Needle Stick - CRPS

    Medical malpractice is any act by a health care provider that deviates from accepted standards of medical care and results in the personal injury, disability, or wrongful death of a patient. Nursing home abuse or negligence can take many forms. It can include physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, neglect, negligent care, and even financial exploitation.

    Free Case Evaluation
  • Environmental and Toxic Torts
    • Asbestos and Mesothelioma
    • Benzene
    • Chemical Exposure
    • Manganese Exposure
    • Natural Resource Damages
    • Toxic Injuries
    • Workplace Exposure
    • Camp Lejeune Water Contamination

    Exposure to toxic chemicals in the workplace or environment can cause serious, sometimes fatal health problems, including cancer.

    Free Case Evaluation
  • Catastrophic Personal Injuries
    • Burns and Chemical Burns
    • Traumatic Brain Injuries
    • Spinal Cord Injuries
    • Wrongful Death

    Catastrophic personal injuries include brain and spinal cord injuries, severe burns, carbon monoxide poisoning and, most seriously, death.

    Free Case Evaluation
  • Dangerous Drugs & Devices
    • Allergan Breast Implant Recall
    • Hernia Mesh
    • IVC Filters
    • Philips Respironics Lawsuit
    • Zantac (ranitidine)
    • NEC Baby Formula

    At the Locks Law Firm, our pharmaceutical litigation and defective drug lawyers are committed to serving personal injury victims and are well versed in the product liability laws that protect consumers.

    Free Case Evaluation

Locks Law Firm

Philadelphia, PA

(215) 893-0100

Cherry Hill, NJ

(856) 663-8200

New York, NY

(212) 838-3333

Roseland, NJ

(973) 671-1940

Locks Law Firm

Philadelphia, PA

The Curtis Center
Suite 720 East
601 Walnut Street

Cherry Hill, NJ

801 North Kings Highway

New York, NY

800 Third Ave 11th Floor

Roseland, NJ

3 Becker Farm Road
Suite 105

Locks Law Firm

Philadelphia, PA

[email protected]

Cherry Hill, NJ

[email protected]

New York, NY

[email protected]

Roseland, NJ

[email protected]

Blog

New Jersey Supreme Court Rules Defendant Waived Right to Arbitration

Last week the New Jersey Supreme Court decided the case of Roach v. BM Motoring LLC, which Andrew Bell of the Locks Law Firm argued on behalf of amicus curiae The Consumers League of New Jersey (Andrew Bell, James Barry, and Michael Galpern on the brief).

Roach involved a consumer case arising out of fraud in the sale of two automobiles (one to each named plaintiff).  The contract for sale for both vehicles contained an arbitration clause which provided for the arbitration of “any and all claims, disputes or issues” and specified that the arbitration would be in accordance with the rules of the AAA and before a single arbitrator, who shall be a retired judge or attorney.  Plaintiffs filed arbitration claims with the AAA against the dealer.  The Dealer failed to pay the required arbitration fees in either case or otherwise respond, and the AAA declined to administer the claims due to the non-payment.  Plaintiffs then filed a joint complaint in the Law Division, and Defendant filed a motion to dismiss in favor of arbitration.  Defendants argued that the AAA was not an appropriate forum for the arbitration due to its excessive fees, and therefore the Plaintiffs’ demands for arbitration didn’t comport with the arbitration agreement.

Plaintiffs and The Consumers League of New Jersey argued that the arbitration clause implicitly designated the AAA as the arbitral forum, that Plaintiff’s choice of that forum was reasonable under the agreement, and entitled to deference and that Defendant’s conduct in refusing to pay the fees associated with the AAA arbitration proceeding constituted a material breach of the agreement, precluding Defendant from being able to compel arbitration between the parties later.

The Court in considering whether Defendant’s failure to pay the fees associated with the AAA proceeding constituted a “material breach” of the agreement adopted Section 241 of the Restatement (Second) of Contracts (1981), and specifically Subsection (e) of the Section which implicates the duty of good faith and fair dealing.

The Court first found that the arbitration clause permitted arbitration with the AAA, and that “plaintiff’s choice of forum is entitled to the preferential consideration.”  (The first time this standard has been applied to arbitrations in New Jersey).  The Court held that even were the terms of the clause susceptible to multiple interpretations, the clause should be construed against Defendant as the drafting party, especially in light of the fact that the agreement had “indicia of being a contract of adhesion…”

The Court then found that Defendant’s failure to pay the fees for the arbitration proceeding constituted a material breach of the agreement, and a breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing with regard to the arbitration agreement.  The Court concluded that the material breach and the breach of good faith and fair dealing barred the Defendant from later moving to compel arbitration.  The Court noted that to hold otherwise would be to incentivize Defendants to ignore arbitration demands, and if the claimant did not abandon his claims to later move to compel arbitration.

This opinion is an important step in safeguarding consumers from businesses that use arbitration to drag out disputes, hoping that consumers will eventually drop their claims.

James Barry

Guest Author
March 21, 2017 James Barry

Tell Us About Your Case

If you can read this, please avoid filling the following input field or your submission may be marked as spam.
Thank you for contacting us! We will be in touch with you shortly.
Uh oh. There was a problem processing your request. Please try again!
Previous Entry

Science and Medical Research Big Losers In Trump Proposed Budget

Next Entry

NFL Common Benefit Fees vs Individual Case Fees

Recent Entries

  • Locks Law Firm Announces New Partner: Victoria A. Schall, Esq.
  • Camp Lejeune and the PACT Act
  • Locks Law Firm Partner Al Anthony Helps Raise Over $1.3 Million for Pillar Care Continuum
  • Jennifer Emmons Named Managing Partner
  • Stephen M. Tatonetti Joins the Locks Law Firm Team

Archive

  • January2023
  • August2022
  • February2022
  • January2022
  • September2021
  • August2021
  • July2021
  • March2021
  • February2021
  • January2021
  • November2020
  • September2020
  • July2020
  • June2020
  • May2020
  • April2020
  • March2020
  • February2020
  • January2020
  • December2019
  • November2019
  • October2019
  • September2019
  • August2019
  • July2019
  • June2019
  • May2019
  • April2019
  • March2019
  • February2019
  • January2019
  • December2018
  • November2018
  • October2018
  • September2018
  • August2018
  • July2018
  • June2018
  • May2018
  • April2018
  • March2018
  • February2018
  • January2018
  • December2017
  • November2017
  • October2017
  • September2017
  • August2017
  • July2017
  • June2017
  • May2017
  • April2017
  • March2017
  • February2017
  • January2017
  • December2016
  • November2016
  • October2016
  • September2016
  • August2016
  • July2016
  • June2016
  • May2016
  • April2016
  • March2016
  • February2016
  • January2016
  • December2015
  • November2015
  • October2015
  • September2015
  • August2015
  • May2015
  • April2015
  • March2015
  • February2015
  • January2015
  • December2014
  • November2014
  • October2014
  • August2014
  • June2014
  • April2014
  • February2014
  • August2013
  • July2013
  • June2013
  • February2013
  • December2012
  • November2012
  • October2012
  • September2012
  • August2012
  • July2012
  • June2012
  • September2011
  • January2011
  • November2010
  • September2010
  • August2010
  • July2010
  • June2010
  • March2010
  • February2010
  • January2010
  • December2009
  • November2009
  • September2009
  • August2009
  • July2009
  • April2009
  • March2009
  • February2009
  • January2009
  • July2008
  • June2008
  • May2008
1-866-LOCKSLAW
[email protected]
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
2021 Best Lawyers
Martindale-Hubble Award Ten Leaders

Copyright ©2023 Locks Law Firm. Made by Mindlark.

Locks Law Firm only provides legal advice after having entered into an attorney client relationship, which our website specifically does not create. Conversations that originate from website messaging, chat or other two way web based engagement  do not create an attorney client relationship. It is imperative that any action taken be done on the advice of counsel. Because every case is different, the description of awards and cases previously handled do not guarantee a similar outcome in current or future cases. The firm practices law in Pennsylvania, New Jersey & New York as Locks Law Firm. Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers in America and other organizations that rate attorneys are not designations that have been approved by the State Supreme Courts or the American Bar Association.