The Future of Faithless Electors and the National Popular Vote Compact: Part Two in a Two-Part Series

VIKRAM DAVID AMAR

In this second of a two-part series of columns about the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in the “faithless elector cases, Illinois Law dean and professor Vikram David Amar describes some good news that we may glean from those cases. Specifically, Amar points out that states have many ways of reducing elector faithlessness, and he lists three ways in which the Court’s decision paves the way for advances in the National Popular Vote (NPV) Interstate Compact movement.

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Impoverishing Women: Supreme Court Upholds Trump Administration’s Religious and Moral Exemptions to Contraceptive Mandate

JOANNA L. GROSSMAN

SMU Dedman School of Law professor Joanna L. Grossman comments on the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision upholding the Trump administration’s religious and moral exemptions to the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Grossman provides a brief history of the conflict over the growing politicization of contraception in the United States and argues that the exemptions at issue in this case should never have been promulgated in the first place because they have no support in science or public policy.

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Waithaka v. Amazon.com, Inc.

Docket: 19-1848

Opinion Date: July 17, 2020

Judge: Kermit Victor Lipez

Areas of Law: Arbitration & Mediation, Contracts, Labor & Employment Law

The First Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of Appellants' motion to compel arbitration in this putative class action, holding that the Federal Arbitration Act's (FAA) exemption for "contracts of employment of seamen, railroad employees, or any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce" encompasses the contracts of transportation workers who transport goods or people within the flow of interstate commerce. Plaintiff was a delivery driver for Amazon.com, Inc. and its subsidiary, Amazon Logistics, Inc. (collectively, Amazon) who collected packages for delivery in Massachusetts and did not cross state lines during the course of his deliveries. Plaintiff filed this putative class action asserting misclassification of Amazon's drivers contracted with through its smartphone application as independent contractors and violations of Massachusetts labor laws. Amazon moved to compel arbitration pursuant to the mandatory arbitration provision of Plaintiff's employment agreement with Amazon. The district court denied the motion in part, concluding that Plaintiff's agreement was exempt from the FAA and that the provision was unenforceable based on Massachusetts public policy. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) the FAA does not govern the enforceability of the dispute resolution section of the agreement; and (2) the district court rightly refused to compel arbitration pursuant to state law.

Caribbean Management Group, Inc. v. Erikon, LLC

Docket: 19-1421

Opinion Date: July 17, 2020

Judge: Selya

Areas of Law: Contracts

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying a judgment creditor's motion for leave to execute on the judgment and its motion for reconsideration, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in viewing the judgment creditor's collection efforts as lacking in diligence and thus deeming unwarranted an extension of the period for execution of judgments. The district court entered a consent judgment in favor of Erikon LLC and against two defendants, jointly and severally, for $7.5 million. After Defendants stopped making payments, Erikon made no meaningful effort to collect the balance of the judgment for several years. Erikon eventually moved for leave to execute on the judgment. The district court denied the motion, reasoning that Erikon had waited to file its motion until more than six years after Defendants' final payment. The court then denied Erikon's motion for reconsideration. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that where, over the course of more than six years, Erikon took minimal steps to enforce the judgment, the district court did not abuse its discretion in deeming unwarranted an extension of the period for execution of judgments.