The Eleventh Circuit upheld an arbitral award last month despite the arbitrators’ failure to make certain disclosures regarding potential sources of bias. The litigation involved a dispute between the Panama Canal Authority, the government agency responsible for the operation and management of the Panama Canal, and Grupo Unidos por el Canal, S.A., the contractor hired to construct the Panama Canal expansion. Complications with the project caused progress to be “severely delayed and disrupted,” resulting in liability disputes between the parties.
Shiva Pedram
Shiva Pedram is an associate in the Litigation Department. She is currently on client secondment.
Shiva earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she served on the National Security Journal, Student Mental Health Association, and Middle Eastern Law Students Association. While at Harvard, Shiva represented clients in the Harvard Family and Domestic Violence Clinic and Immigration Clinic, and interned at the County of San Diego Office of the Primary Public Defender.
Prior to law school, Shiva received her B.A. in political science summa cum laude from U.C. Berkeley.
Kardashian’s ‘SKKN by Kim’ Brand Facing Legal Uncertainty
Kim Kardashian has been hit with a lawsuit by New York-based Beauty Concepts LLC over Kardashian’s recently launched skincare line, “SKKN by Kim.” Beauty Concepts filed a complaint in the Eastern District of New York against Kardashian, her business entity Kimsaprincess Inc., and beauty company Coty Inc. on Tuesday, alleging that SKKN by Kim uses branding “highly confusingly similar” to Beauty Concepts’ own skincare line, “SKKN+”. The complaint further alleges that Beauty Concepts has priority of use over the letters “skkn” due to the company’s consistent use of the mark “SKKN+” since at least August 2018.
Uber Can’t Compel Arbitration of PAGA Claim According to California Court
On April 21, 2021, the Second Appellate District of the Court of Appeal of the State of California filed an unpublished opinion rejecting Uber’s attempt to enforce an arbitration provision that waived an employee’s right to bring a claim under the California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). This statute authorizes “aggrieved employees” to file lawsuits to recover civil penalties from employers for violations of the California labor code.