Morgan v. Sundance, Inc.
View Official PDFSummary
A short, plain-English overview of Morgan v. Sundance, Inc..
In Morgan v. Sundance, Inc., the Supreme Court addressed whether federal courts can impose a prejudice requirement for waiving the right to arbitrate under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The Court found that the Eighth Circuit erred by conditioning a waiver of the right to arbitrate on a showing of prejudice, as federal procedural rules do not include such a requirement. The case was vacated and remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Holding
The single most important “bottom line” of what the Court decided in Morgan v. Sundance, Inc..
The Court held that the Eighth Circuit erred in requiring a showing of prejudice to waive the right to arbitrate under the FAA.
Key Quotes
Short excerpts from the syllabus in Morgan v. Sundance, Inc. that support the summary and concepts above.
Federal courts may not create arbitration-specific variants of federal procedural rules.
The federal policy is about treating arbitration contracts like all others, not about fostering arbitration.
A court may not devise novel rules to favor arbitration over litigation.
