I wanted to share an update on Bill Peters’ case and why you need to check your employment contract. If it has an arbitration clause, you may want to change that given Bill’s experience and Judge Colleen McMahon opinion.

Timeline

On dates so you understand the context of Judge Colleen McMahon judgment with respect to Bill Peters’ arbitration:

• 1 Oct 2018. Bill signs an employment contract with Buc Mobile, this includes an arbitration clause in Delaware.
• 16 Feb 2023. Bill files a demand for arbitration, after he was fired without cause. You can read more on that in Bill’s complaint filed last year (2023). A year went by with little progress. This backs up the Judge Colleen McMahon’s opinion of commercial arbitrations.
• 22 Feb 2024. TCR has the arbiters file a subpoena for files allegedly in Johnny and my possession. There are no files in our possession about recorded conversations between carriers and TCR. Bill did not send us anything. As far as we know those recordings remain in the TCR. I did not know Bill during his employment at Buc Mobile / TCR. Johnny and I are non-parties to the employment arbitration, we should not be involved. This is an example of “lawless litigation” referred to by Judge Colleen McMahon.
• 24 March. TCR petitioned the court to enforce the subpoena.
• 30 May. Judge Colleen McMahon, and the lawyers meet to discuss the case. In that meeting the judge refers to commercial arbitrations as “long, drawn-out, lawless litigation”. She is a new eloquent hero of mine!
• 24 June. Judge Colleen McMahon rejects TCR’s motion. 
• Now Bill’s arbitration has been pushed out to 2025.

Juicy Quotes

There was a meeting on May 30th between the judge and lawyers. The text is available here. There are quite a few choice quotes in that document. Its a fun read.

The judge’s decision can be found here in summary, unless you have a subscription, and here in full, or search “Case 1:24-cv-02314-CM Document 44 Filed 06/24/24.” 

For me, Judge Colleen McMahon’s quote on arbitration is both important, powerful, and every employee of an American company should take note.

“I don’t approve of arbitration. I will tell you that right off the bat. I don’t approve of arbitration at all. And I particularly don’t approve of commercial arbitrations like this because they’re not really arbitrations, they’re litigations. Arbitration is something that’s supposed to happen snap, snap, snap, snap, quickly, to resolve disputes. That’s not what happens in commercial arbitration these days. It’s just long, drawn-out, lawless litigation.”

Judge Colleen McMahon

If you have arbitration as the method in your employment contract, I’d recommend you get that changed. Cite Bill Peters’ experience and Judge Colleen McMahon opinion as the reasons. Bill is a straight-up guy, if it can happen to him, it can happen to anyone. Check with your lawyer on what should be put in its place.

You can read in the documents the silliness over changing the location from Delaware to New York, and how ill-prepared the Littler lawyer was. I love this quote from the judge: 

“Never come to court without the papers the subject of the underlying motion you’re going to be arguing. It’s a really, really bad idea.”

Judge Colleen McMahon

What does this mean to you?

What happens next? I think Bill’s arbitration has been pushed out to 2025. As Judge Colleen McMahon stated, “Arbitration is something that’s supposed to happen snap, snap, snap, snap, quickly, to resolve disputes. That’s not what happens in commercial arbitration these days. It’s just long, drawn-out, lawless litigation.”

Note Tata Communications, Kaleyra, and TCR (The Campaign Registry) are the group paying for this lawless litigation. All three should be ashamed of themselves as I am a non-party to the employment arbitration, and did not known Bill when he was employed by Buc Mobile / TCR. Its frivolous litigation.

As a side note, Tata Communications, Kaleyra, and TCR (The Campaign Registry) must have spent millions with their lawyers on this. All that is at stake is Bill’s severance, 1 year’s salary. In my opinion, something else is being hidden by this lawfare, and Bill’s complaint filed last year may point to that.

Check your employment contract! Arbitration in not snap, snap, snap, snap.