Tennessee Business Litigation Blog | Burr & Forman LLP

SCOTUS: Waiver of Arbitration Does Not Require Prejudice

Thomas K. Potter, III — Tue, 31 May 2022 09:00:01 -0400

A unanimous Supreme Court held May 23 that a party’s waiver of its arbitration right does not require showing prejudice to an opposing party, because the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) prohibits arbitration-specific rules.

Franchisor Sundance litigated employee Morgan’s collective wage and hour claim for eight months before moving to compel arbitration. The courts below applied the majority rule and rejected Morgan’s waiver argument because she showed inadequate prejudice from Sundance’s delay.

The Supreme Court reversed and remanded. The Court assumed ...

SCOTUS: No Look-Through Jurisdiction for Arbitration Confirmation or Vacatur

Thomas K. Potter, III — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 09:00:02 -0400

The U.S. Supreme Court held March 31, 2022, that the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) does not allow federal courts to “look through” to the dispute underlying an arbitration to establish jurisdiction to confirm or vacate an arbitration award.

The 8:1 decision by Justice Kagan distinguished the language of FAA Sections 9 (confirmation) and 10 (vacatur).

While the FAA authorizes various petitions for relief, it does not provide a basis for jurisdiction of itself. Thus, a petitioner must establish an independent basis for federal court jurisdiction, whether ...