The Supreme Court and U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Court have each recently decided cases involving arbitration. The Supreme Court, in New Prime v. Oliveira, ruled on an exception to arbitrability under §1 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), 9 U.S.C. §1, and the D.C. Circuit, in Diag Human v. Czech Republic, ruled on the binding nature of foreign arbitral awards.

‘New Prime’

In New Prime v. Oliveira, 586 U.S. ___ (2019), the Supreme Court, in an 8-0 decision (Justice Kavanaugh did not participate in the decision), expanded the scope of an exemption under the FAA that applies to certain transportation workers. The case concerned Dominic Oliveira, a truck driver, who worked as an independent contractor for New Prime. When he began working for New Prime, Oliveira signed an agreement that included an arbitration clause. After New Prime made deductions to Oliveira’s pay, Oliveira brought a class action law suit against New Prime that alleged Fair Labor Standards Act violations and state law claims. At the district court, New Prime moved to compel arbitration. Under §2 of the FAA, an agreement to arbitrate is “valid, irrevocable, and enforceable, save upon such grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract.” 9 U.S.C. §2. Oliveira responded that the court lacked authority to compel arbitration because of §1 of the FAA, which provides an exception to the enforceability of arbitration provisions in disputes involving interstate transportation workers. New Prime then argued that the applicability of §1 was a question for the arbitrator, not the court. The district court denied New Prime’s motion to compel arbitration, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed.