This week, the Court addresses whether a court or an arbitrator must consider a sovereign immunity defense to arbitration, and applies the False Claims Act to a defendant's allegedly fraudulent Medicare billing practices.
CAREMARK, LLC v. CHICKASAW NATION
The Court holds that an Indian tribe's sovereign immunity and statutory challenges to the arbitrability of a contract dispute were properly delegated to an arbitrator for resolution in the first instance.
Panel: Judges Wallace, Boggs (CA6), and Friedland, with Judge Friedland writing the opinion.
Key Highlight: "The Nation's proposed approach here would put the cart before the horse, requiring us to resolve whether there has been a waiver of tribal immunity for particular claims for which arbitration is sought before determining whether an arbitration agreement exists at all."
Background: Chickasaw Nation, a federally recognized Indian tribe that operates its own health care system, contracted with Caremark to manage prescription drug benefits provided through a number of tribal pharmacies. The contracts, among other things, required that all disputes arising from the agreement be resolved in arbitration. The arbitration provision also included a "delegation clause" providing that an arbitrator, instead of a court, should resolve any threshold issues about the formation, scope, or enforceability of the arbitration agreement.
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