The Supreme Court’s upcoming 2019-20 term features cases on a wide variety of topics, including international arbitration, sex discrimination, administrative law and stock-drop litigation. These are a few of the cases that may have long-lasting legal ramifications.

International Arbitration

In GE Energy v. Outokumpu, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether a party can compel arbitration by enforcing an arbitration agreement it did not sign. There is extensive case law concerning the enforcement of agreements by and against non-signatories based on principles of contract law, including in instances of assumption of contract and assignment, where the corporate veil can be lifted, or where other legal or equitable principles apply, such as agency and equitable estoppel. In this case, an arbitration agreement existed between a buyer (Outokumpu) and a seller. When the buyer sued the seller’s subcontractor (GE Energy), the subcontractor moved to compel arbitration under the arbitration agreement.