High Court Hears Dental Supplies Antitrust Suit’s Arbitration Fight

The extent of a court’s power to refuse to enforce an arbitration agreement is coming to the U.S. Supreme Court in an antitrust case.

Oral argument on a dispute between two dental equipment distributors, Henry Schein Inc. v. Archer & White Sales Inc., begins Oct. 29. The high court has agreed to resolve whether, under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), a court can toss an arbitration agreement that it finds “wholly groundless” or whether that call must be made by an arbitrator. In other words, who decides whether an arbitrator should hear a case instead of the court?

The ...