Agreements to submit disputes to arbitration are commonplace, with parties attempting to avoid the time, cost, and publicity involved in litigating disputes in court. To facilitate these aims, the Federal Arbitration Act (the FAA) embodies a “federal policy favoring arbitration” and requires that “arbitration agreements [be placed] on an equal footing with other contracts.”¹ In keeping with those principles, the FAA provides that arbitration agreements may be unenforceable on the same “grounds as exist... for the revocation of any contract.”² Courts, however, have diverged on the grounds upon which a party can waive its right to arbitrate under an arbitration agreement. Some courts maintain the same standard for waiver of an arbitration agreement as for other contracts, requiring only the intentional relinquishment of a known right. Other courts graft on an additional requirement that the relinquishment of that right cause prejudice before amounting to waiver. The Supreme Court has granted certiorari to resolve this split in the current term, in Morgan v. Sundance, Inc.,³ and is set to hear argument in the case 21 March 2022.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY OF MORGAN

From August to October 2015, Robyn Morgan worked at a Taco Bell franchise owned and operated by Sundance, Inc. (Sundance) in Osceola, Iowa. At the outset of her employment, Morgan signed an application for employment that contained a mandatory arbitration provision, which required arbitration of all...

Read Full Story: https://www.natlawreview.com/article/us-supreme-court-to-address-prejudice-re...