The Supreme Court Adopts Broader View of Federal Jurisdiction to Hear Motions to Compel Arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act
Yesterday, in Vaden v. Discover Bank, No. 07-773, the Supreme Court found that federal jurisdiction exists to compel arbitration of substantive controversies under the Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA") if the federal courts otherwise would have had jurisdiction over the controversy absent the arbitration agreement. Specifically, the Court expressly held that federal courts may "look through" the petition for arbitration to the underlying substantive controversy in order to determine whether it is predicated on an action that "arises under" federal law. To read the Report, please click here.