Nitro-Lift Technologies, L.L.C. v. Howard, No. 11-1377; U.S. Supreme Court; per curiam opinion; decided November 26, 2012. On petition for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of Oklahoma.
State courts rather than federal courts are most frequently called on to apply the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq., including the act’s national policy favoring arbitration. It is a matter of great importance, therefore, that state supreme courts adhere to a correct interpretation of the legislation. Here, the Oklahoma Supreme Court failed to do so. By declaring the noncompetition agreements in two employment contracts null and void, rather than leaving that determination to the arbitrator in the first instance, the state court ignored a basic tenet of the act’s substantive arbitration law. The decision must be vacated.
