Delegation Clauses in Arbitration Agreements

The Missouri Supreme Court analyzed delegation clauses in  State ex rel. Newberry v. Jackson, 2019 WL 2181859 (May 21, 2019). Employees bringing a workplace discrimination claim challenged the delegation provision in an arbitration agreement contained in an employment contract. The employment contact at issue here incorporated the AAA rules, which delegate decisions about enforceability to the arbitrator. The US Supreme Court's decision in Rent-A-Center held that delegation clauses are severable from arbitration clauses much as Prima Paint long ago held that  an arbitration agreement is a separate component of a contract and, therefore, to avoid a motion to compel a party needs to challenge the arbitration agreement and not just contract as a whole. The Missouri Supreme Court says that a delegation clause in an arbitration agreement is similar and must be specifically challenged to avoid delegation to the arbitrator. The Court also found that no such specific challenge was made in this case. 

Arbitration Nation goes into more depth on the decision and the issue of separability/delegation as a whole.

Supreme Court Hearing Three Arbitration Cases in October

On October 3rd the Court heard oral arguments in New Prime, Inc. v. Oliveira, asking whether  FAA section 1, which excludes certain transportation “workers” from the FAA’s reach, applies to independent contractors, in addition to the employees, of a transportation company.  Ogletree Deakins writes: “Given the justices’ seeming alignment with Oliveira at the oral argument, it is anticipated that the Supreme Court will ultimately issue a decision allowing truck drivers and others independent contractors in the transportation industry to avoid arbitration.”

In late October the Court will hear Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela in which the Ninth Circuit held the agreement permitted class arbitration.

The Court will also hear Henry Schein v. Archer & White Sales, Inc. This contract provided for arbitration of all disputes, except claims for injunctive relief and involving intellectual property rights. Plaintiff sought injunctive relief and argued the case should be litigated, but defendants argued the arbitration agreement sends to the arbitrator any questions about the arbitrability of some or all of the case. The Fifth Circuit ruled that the court should decide arbitrability, and affirmed denial of the motion to compel arbitration.

The National Law Review provides a more detailed discussion of the issues.