Abstract
Suppose Pfizer and CVS agree to arbitrate not only any disputes that might arise out of their contract containing an arbitration agreement but also any disputes that might arise out of any of the many earlier contracts between these two large corporations. Or Apple and Samsung agree to arbitrate any patent infringement claims either has against the other for the next five years. Or FedEx and UPS agree to arbitrate any tort claims either has against the other due to any collision of their vehicles in the next ten years. Or members of the Walton (Walmart) family agree to arbitrate any dispute related to any existing or future will or trust, including its validity, over the next twenty years.
These hypothetical agreements should be enforceable, but the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), as it is currently written, may not provide such enforcement. The FAA makes predispute arbitration agreements enforceable only as to "a controversy thereafter arising out of t[he] contract" containing the arbitration agreement. However, some or all of the disputes covered by each of the arbitration agreements described above do not arise out of the contracts containing those agreements. These, and other enforcement-worthy arbitration agreements, are excluded by the FAA's just quoted "arising out of" requirement.
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Business Organizations Law Commons, Commercial Law Commons, Contracts Commons, Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Commons
