Morgan v. Sundance Inc., No. 21-328; ZF Automotive US, Inc. v. Luxshare, Ltd., No. 21-401, and AlixPartners LLP v. The Fund for Protection of Investors’ Rights in Foreign States, No. 21-518; Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon, No. 21-309; Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, No. 20-1573 (U.S.): The Supreme Court heard oral argument the last two weeks of March in four cases involving arbitration. The eventual decisions will reshape the arbitration landscape.
We reported in December that the Supreme Court had granted Certiorari in four cases involving arbitration. Then SAA 2022-04 (Feb. 3) advised that the Court calendar released by SCOTUS on January 28 had set the cases for oral argument during the last two weeks of March. The Court this week heard oral argument on March 21 in Morgan v. Sundance Inc., No. 21-328, and on March 23 in ZF Automotive US, Inc. v. Luxshare, Ltd., No. 21-401, and AlixPartners LLP v. The Fund for Protection of Investors’ Rights in Foreign States, No. 21-518.
A Brief Review
We covered these cases in detail in the last TEE; SAA 2021-47 (Dec. 16); and in a feature article, After a Lull in 2021, a Busy Year Ahead Arbitration-wise for SCOTUS, 2021:48 Sec. Arb. Alert 1 (Dec. 23, 2021).
A Handy Chart on All Four Cases
The chart below has information on the “Arbitration Final Four” cases. Oral arguments are audio livestreamed via the SCOTUS Website. The Court’s Website posts audio recordings and transcripts the same day as arguments.
March 21: Morgan v. Sundance Inc., No. 21-328: prejudice requirement for waiver of arbitration rights.
March 23: ZF Automotive US, Inc. v. Luxshare, Ltd., No. 21-401, and AlixPartners LLP v. The Fund for Protection of Investors’ Rights in Foreign States, No. 21-518; 18 USC 1782: discovery in foreign arbitration.
March 28: Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon, No. 21-309: FAA section 1 exemption scope – workers actually moving goods or people over state lines or is part of the “flow” or “stream” enough?
March 30: Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, No. 20-1573: FAA preemption of California’s PAGA.
(ed: *Amicus Briefs aplenty were filed in all four cases and can be found by clicking on the link to each case. **As we’ve said before, one wonders if SCOTUS is setting up another “Steelworkers Trilogy” scenario, in which the Court six decades ago simultaneously decided three landmark arbitration cases involving the United Steelworkers. The three cases, United Steelworkers v. American Manufacturing Co., 363 U.S. 564 (1960); United Steelworkers v. Enterprise Wheel & Car Corp., 363 U.S. 593 (1960); and United Steelworkers v. Warrior & Gulf Navigation Co., 363 U.S. 574 (1960), were all heard the same week (April 27-28, 1960), and the decisions were all announced seriatim on the same day (June 20, 1960). Is SCOTUS planning a redux with the “Arbitration Quartet”? Time will tell.)
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