By George H. Friedman, SAA Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
In a case of first impression, the Vermont Supreme Court in a unanimous 5-0 holding – with two “reluctant” occurrences – finds that: 1) the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) is to be construed broadly as to interstate commerce;
The Supreme Court ruled on May 15th that a Kentucky rule of law requiring that a power of attorney specifically authorize agreements to arbitrate was preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”).
A power of attorney must expressly refer to arbitration agreements before the attorney-in-fact can bind its principal to an arbitration agreement.
*In determining whether SLUSA applies, a court looks at the substance of the allegations, based on a fair reading of them.
The Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision holds in DIRECTV v. Imburgia, No. 14-462 (Dec. 14, 2015), that, while parties can agree to application of state law in their arbitration agreement,
