High Court Rejects ‘Look Through’ Approach for Determining Jurisdiction Over Petitions to Confirm, Vacate Arbitration Awards

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that federal district courts, in determining whether they have jurisdiction over a petition to confirm or vacate an arbitration award, may not “look through” to the underlying dispute to determine whether there is a federal law claim.

In a March 31 opinion, the high court, led by Justice Elena Kagan, ruled 8-1 that it is not enough for federal jurisdiction that the underlying claim the parties arbitrated arose under federal law.

“Congress has not authorized a federal court to adjudicate a Section 9 or 10 application just because the contractual dispute …