This Week At The Ninth: Presumed Reliance And Evident Partiality

This week, a divided Ninth Circuit panel addressed when a plaintiff's reliance on an omission may be presumed in a securities-fraud case, and another panel considered when an arbitration award must be set aside due to an arbitrator's failure to disclose a relationship with one of the parties (while also unanimously calling for en banc review of the decision that governed much of that inquiry).

PUERTO RICO GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES & JUDICIARY RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATION v. VOLKSWAGEN* 
The Court holds that in securities-fraud cases in which the plaintiffs allege both omissions and affirmative misrepresentations, the Affiliated Ute presumption of reliance does not apply unless the plaintiffs allege primarily omissions claims.