law-interstate-commerce-as-basis-for-FAA-applicability | Texas Supreme Court Arbitration-Related Decisions |
INTERSTATE COMMERCE AS BASIS FOR FAA APPLICATION
The Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) generally governs arbitration provisions in contracts involving
interstate commerce. See 9 U.S.C. § 2; see also In re L & L Kempwood Assocs., L.P., 9 S.W.3d
125, 127 (Tex. 1999). Where the FAA ostensibly controls, as it does here, an agreement to arbitrate
is valid except on grounds as exist at law or in equity to revoke the contract. 9 U.S.C. § 2. Section 2
of the FAA provides that courts shall compel arbitration on issues subject to an arbitration
agreement. Id. Section 4 of the FAA provides that a court may consider only issues relating to the
making and performance of the agreement to arbitrate. 9 U.S.C. § 4. Thus, once a party seeking to
compel arbitration has established that there is a valid agreement to arbitrate and that the plaintiff’s
claims are within the agreement’s scope, the trial court must compel arbitration. Id.; In re Oakwood
Mobile Homes, Inc., 987 S.W.2d 571, 573 (Tex. 1999) (per curiam).
In re Morgan Stanley & Co, Inc. No. 07-0665 (Tex. Jul. 3, 2009)(Medina) (arbitration vs. litigation: legal
capacity of party to arbitration agreement, does the court or the arbitrator decide the issue?)