Closing the Door, but Opening a Window: The Supreme Court's Reaffirmation of Applying the Federal Arbitration Act to the States

Authors

Caroline Kornelis

Abstract

The instant case reinforces two key Supreme Court cases regarding the enforcement of arbitration agreements, and the requirement that when parties disagree about the validity of a contract which contains an arbitration clause, the dispute should go directly to an arbitrator, and not be determined by a court. While this case adds no new law to the arbitration landscape per se, it does reaffirm the Supreme Court's, as well as Congress's, firm stance on promoting arbitration. At first glance, the opinion seems to be a cut and dry reaffirmation of principles that have been present in Unites States Supreme Court case law for nearly forty years, but it could also be viewed as leaving open the possibility that at some point the Court could overturn Southland Corp. v. Keating, the Supreme Court case that applies the Federal Arbitration Act to the states.

Recommended Citation

Caroline Kornelis, Closing the Door, but Opening a Window: The Supreme Court's Reaffirmation of Applying the Federal Arbitration Act to the States, 2006 J. Disp. Resol. (2006)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/jdr/vol2006/iss2/14