SCOTUS Arbitration Review – A Panel Discussion

On August 9, 2022, from 11 a.m to 12:30 p.m. PDT (2 p.m. to 3:30 pm EDT) Arbitrate.com convened a Panel Discussion with top national experts focused on the implications of recent arbitration-related decisions by the Supreme Court. You can find a list of all five cases and the rulings below.

The recording is available here:

Panelists:

• Professor Imre Szalai, Judge John D. Wessel Distinguished Professor of Social Justice, Loyola University, New Orleans College of Law
• Sarah Rudolph Cole, Michael E. Moritz Chair in Alternative Dispute Resolution, The Ohio State University, Moritz School of Law
• Angela Downes, Professor of Practice, UNT Dallas School of Law

Moderators:

Professor Amy Schmitz (Professor of Law, The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law)

Colin Rule, President & CEO of Arbitrate.com & Mediate.com

List of arbitration-related rulings by SCOTUS in Spring-Summer 2022

1) Badgerow v. Walters, No. 20-1143, on March 31, where SCOTUS found in an 8-1 decision that the “look through” doctrine does not apply to applications to confirm or vacate arbitration awards under sections 9 and 10 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).

2) Morgan v. Sundance Inc., No. 21-328, on May 23, in which SCOTUS ruled unanimously that there is no “prejudice requirement” under the FAA for a court to find a waiver of arbitration rights.

3) Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon, No. 21-309, on June 6, 2022, another unanimous ruling where SCOTUS held that the FAA Section 1 exemption of “workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce” includes classes of workers who are part of the flow or stream of interstate commerce, and that there is no requirement under the FAA that these workers cross state lines in reality.

4) ZF Automotive US, Inc. v. Luxshare, Ltd., No. 21-401, on June 13, where SCOTUS again decided unanimously that 28 U.S.C. § 1782(a), which allows litigants in foreign disputes to rely on American courts to obtain discovery in aid of “a foreign or international tribunal,” is applicable only to foreign courts and tribunals which have governmental authority and that it does not extend to private tribunals, thereby excluding private commercial arbitral tribunals/panels.

5) Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, No. 20-1573, on June 15, an 8-1 decision in which SCOTUS found that California’s Private Attorney General Act (“PAGA”) was in part preempted by the FAA, to the extent that the PAGA allowed employees to evade bilateral pre-dispute arbitration agreements (“PDAAs”).

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