Justices Say Cases Sent to Arbitration Must Be Put on Hold (2)

Federal courts lack the discretion to dismiss lawsuits after determining that all the underlying claims are subject to mandatory arbitration agreements, the US Supreme Court held in an employment misclassification case that curtailed an appellate strategy to keep disputes from being arbitrated at all.

The justices on Thursday ruled unanimously that the Federal Arbitration Act requires district courts to put on hold lawsuits pending the outcome of private dispute resolution proceedings. The court noted that Section 3 of the FAA, which governs the enforcement of arbitration agreements, explicitly says that a district court referring a case to arbitration “shall on ...