Courts may appoint a substitute arbitrator where the one designated in a contract clause — the National Arbitration Forum — is not able to hear the case, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held in a case of first impression.

Any ambiguity in a provision’s wording will be decided in favor of compelling arbitration rather than litigation when such unavailability occurs, a divided panel said Jan. 20 in Khan v. Dell Inc.