On 21 October 2026, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (the “Court”) denied an application by the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (“MACRA”) to confirm arbitral awards against Precisely Software Incorporated (“Precisely”). The Court held that Precisely had not been given proper notice of the arbitration and had established a defence […]
Can Claimants Avoid Arbitration by Adding Non-Signatory Defendants?
Arbitration clauses are not always challenged directly. Often, the challenge is more subtle: a claimant brings court proceedings against both the contractual counterparty and an additional defendant who never signed the arbitration agreement, i.e., a non-signatory or third party. The question then becomes whether that party structure is enough to keep the dispute in court. […]
FLOPEC v. Sudhaus: New York Convention Arbitration Prevails
In FLOPEC v. Sudhaus, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania gave a clear reminder that an agreed arbitral forum is not easily displaced. The Court ordered arbitration under the New York Convention in a high-value Ecuadorian oil shipping dispute involving Flota Petrolera Ecuatoriana EP, a state-owned company, even though FLOPEC […]
Krimpets, Commerce, and Arbitration: The Supreme Court’s Latest FAA § 1 Decision
On 28 May 2026, the United States Supreme Court issued its unanimous decision in Flowers Foods, Inc. v. Brock, further clarifying the scope of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) § 1 exemption for transportation workers. The FAA requires courts to enforce private arbitration agreements. However, § 1 of the FAA provides an important exception for […]
Import of Sigma Constructores, S.A. v. Republic of Guatemala
The enforcement of arbitral awards against sovereign states in the United States is governed by a carefully structured statutory framework rooted in the New York Convention, and its implementation through Chapter 2 of the Federal Arbitration Act and the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 (FSIA). An arbitral award, although binding, does not automatically carry […]