Appendix F Model Amicus Motions and Briefs

LibraryHandling Appeals in Arkansas (2021 Ed.)
APPENDIX F MODEL AMICUS MOTIONS AND BRIEFS

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS

ALLTEL CORPORATION and ALLTEL COMMUNICATIONS, INC. APPELLANTS

v.

PETER ROSENOW, individually and on behalf of a class of similarly situated persons APPELLEES

Case No. CIV-13-995

MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF

Comes now the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce (the "Chamber"),

pursuant to Rule 4-6 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Arkansas, and for its Motion for Leave to File Amicus Curiae Brief in support of the Appellants, Alltel Corporation and Alltel Communications, Inc., states:

1. The Chamber is a non-profit organization committed to enhancing and promoting the economic climate of the State of Arkansas. The Chamber represents the interests of a diverse and widespread membership which includes approximately 1,200 businesses and organizations of every size, in every industry, and from each of Arkansas's seventy-five counties. The Chamber seeks to carry out its mission, in part, by advocating before Arkansas's appellate courts in an effort to create a legal environment which is encouraging to Arkansas businesses.

2. As part of its mission, the Chamber regularly files amicus briefs with this Court to highlight issues of serious concern to Arkansas's business community. This appeal, which involves the enforceability of arbitration clauses in customer service contracts, presents such a concern.

3. The important issue raised in this appeal is whether Arkansas businesses can rely on the enforceability of arbitration clauses in contracts with businesses and individual customers, given the persuasive evidence that arbitration provides a more efficient and cost-effective procedure for resolving customer disputes. This issue has broad public importance to Arkansas businesses. The Chamber, on behalf of its member businesses, has a compelling interest in the resolution of this issue.

4. The Chamber's proposed Brief is tendered to the Court with this Motion and incorporated herein by reference.

WHEREFORE, the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce respectfully requests that its Motion for Leave to File Amicus Curiae Brief be granted and that its Amicus Curiae Brief be filed in this appeal in support of Appellants.

Respectfully submitted,

KEVIN A. CRASS, #84029

Friday, Eldredge & Clark, llp

400 West Capitol Avenue, Suite 2000

Little Rock, Arkansas 72201-3522

Telephone: (501) 376-2011

Facsimile: (501) 376-2147

E-Mail: crass@fridayfirm.com

R. CHRISTOPHER LAWSON, #93083

Friday, Eldredge & Clark, llp

3425 North Futrall Drive, Suite 103

Fayetteville, Arkansas 72203-6252

Telephone: (479) 695-1888

Facsimile: (479)-695-2147

E-Mail: lawson@fridayfrim.com

By:__________

Kevin A. Crass

Attorneys for the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE AND IDENTIFICATION OF PAPER DOCUMENTS NOT IN PDF FORMAT

Certification: I hereby certify that:

I have submitted and served on opposing counsel (except for incarcerated pro se litigants) an unredacted and, if required, a redacted PDF document(s) that comply with the Rules of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. The PDF document(s) are identical to the corresponding parts of the paper document(s) from which they were created as filed with the court. To the best of my knowledge, information, and belief formed after scanning the PDF documents for viruses with an antivirus program, the PDF documents are free of computer viruses. A copy of this certificate has been submitted with the paper copies filed with the court and has been served on all opposing parties. Identification of paper documents not in PDF format:

The following original paper documents are not in PDF format and are not included in the PDF document(s): None.

R. CHRISTOPHER LAWSON, #93083 KEVIN A. CRASS, #84029

Friday, Eldredge & Clark, llp Friday, Eldredge & Clark, llp

3425 North Futrall Drive, Suite 103 400 West Capitol Avenue, Suite 2000

Fayetteville, AR 72203-6252 Little Rock, AR 72201-3522

Telephone: (479) 695-1888 Telephone: (501) 376-2011

Facsimile: (479)-695-2147 Facsimile: (501) 376-2147

E-Mail: lawson@fridayfrim.com E-Mail: crass@fridayfirm.com

By:__________

Kevin A. Crass

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing document has been sent to the following by U.S. mail this ___ day of December, 2013:

Steven W. Quattlebaum

Chad W. Pekron

QUATTLEBAUM, GROOMS

TULL & BURROW PLLC

111 Center Street, Suite 1900

Little Rock, Arkansas 72201

Scott E. Poynter

EMERSON PAYNTER LLP

500 President Clinton Avenue, Suite 305

Little Rock, Arkansas 72201

Todd Turner

ARNOLD, BATSON, TURNER &

TURNER, P.A.

501 Crittenden Street

P.O. Box 480

Arkadelphia, Arkansas 71923

The Honorable Grisham A. Phillips

Saline County Courthouse

200 N. Main St.

Benton, Arkansas 72015

__________

Kevin A. Crass

SC 13-995

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS

ALLTEL CORPORATION and ALLTEL COMMUNICATIONS, INC. APPELLANTS v.

PETER ROSENOW, individually and on behalf of a class of similarly situated persons APPELLEES

Case No. CIV-13-995

APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF SALINE COUNTY, ARKANSAS The Honorable Grisham A. Phillips, Circuit Judge
BRIEF OF THE ARKANSAS STATE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AS AMICUS CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF APPELLANTS

KEVIN A. CRASS, #84029

Friday, Eldredge & Clark, llp

400 West Capitol Avenue, Suite 2000

Little Rock, Arkansas 72201-3522

Telephone: (501) 376-2011

Facsimile: (501) 376-2147

E-Mail: crass@fridayfirm.com

R. CHRISTOPHER LAWSON, #93083

Friday, Eldredge & Clark, llp

3425 North Futrall Drive, Suite 103

Fayetteville, Arkansas 72203-6252

Telephone: (479) 695-1888

Facsimile: (479) 695-2147

E-Mail: lawson@fridayfrim.com

Attorneys for the Arkansas State

Chamber of Commerce

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS.......................................................................................ii

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES................................................................................iii

ARGUMENT..................................................................................................Arg 1

I. Statement of Interest...............................................................................Arg 1

II. Discussion..............................................................................................Arg 1

A. Arbitration Lowers Prices For Consumers

And Supports The State's Economy...............................................Arg 1

B. Judicial Reluctance To Enforce Arbitration Agreements.................Arg 3

C. Judicial Reluctance To Enforce Arbitration Agreements Should Be Replaced With Uniform Acknowledgment Of The Advantages Of Arbitration.................................................Arg 4

D. The Waiver Of Arbitration Rights Is Not Favored..........................Arg 7

CONCLUSION...............................................................................................Arg 8

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

CASES

14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett, 556 U.S. 247 (2009).............................................................................Arg 3, 5

Allied-Bruce Terminix Cos. v. Dobson, 513 U.S. 265 (1995).........................................................................Arg 3, 4, 5

AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 131 S. Ct. 174 (2011).......................................................................Arg 2, 3, 6

Barker v. Gold U.S.A., Inc., 154 F.3d 788 (8th Cir. 1998)...................................................................Arg 7

Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. v. Shute, 499 U.S. 585 (1991).................................................................................Arg 2

Circuit City Stores, Inc. v. Adams, 532 U.S. 105 (2001).................................................................................Arg 4

Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital v. Mercury Construction Corp., 460 U.S. 1 (1983).....................................................................................Arg 7

Miller Brewing Co. v. Ft. Worth Distributing Co., Inc., 781 F.2d 494 (5th Cir. 1986)...................................................................Arg 7

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. v. Soler Chrysler-Plymouth, Inc. , 473 U.S. 614 (1985).............................................................................Arg 2, 8

Rent-A-Center, West, Inc. v. Jackson, 130 S. Ct. 2772 (2010).............................................................................Arg 4

STATUTES

9 U.S.C. §§ 1, et seq......................................................................................Arg 1

9 U.S.C. § 2...................................................................................................Arg 3

OTHER AUTHORITIES

Am. Arbitration Ass'n, Consumer-Related Disputes, Supplementary Procedures § C-5.................................................................Arg 5

H.R. Rep. No. 97-542 of the FAA, at 3 (1982)............................................Arg 2

TREATISES

Aaron-Andrew Bruhl, The Unconscionability Game: Strategic Judging and the Evolution of Federal Arbitration Law, 83 N.Y.U. L.Rev. 1420 (2008)................................................................Arg 4

John Cooley & Steven Lubet, Arbitration Advocacy, ¶ 1.3.1 (2d ed. 2003)................................................................................Arg 5

Michael Delikat & Morris Kleiner, An Empirical Study of Dispute Resolution Mechanisms: Where Do Plaintiffs Better Vindicate Their Rights?,

58 Disp. Res. J. 56 (Nov. 2003-Jan. 2004)..............................................Arg 6

Christopher R. Drahozal, Arbitration Costs and Forum Accessibility: Empirical Evidence, 41 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 813 (2008).......................................................Arg 5

Christopher R. Drahozal, "Unfair" Arbitration Clauses, 2001 U.Ill. L. Rev. 695............................................................................Arg 2

Christopher Drahozal & Samantha Zyontz, Creditor Claims in Arbitration and in Court, 25 Ohio St. J. on Disp. Resol. 843 (2010)...............................................Arg 6

Drahozal & Zyontz, An Empirical Study of AAA Consumer...

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