ADT’s Arbitration Bid in Customer Spying Case Boosted on Appeal

Security system maker ADT LLC can sue to force arbitration in a dispute by a customer claiming to be a victim of spying, the Fifth Circuit ruled Wednesday in an opinion considering federal courts’ jurisdiction over cases seeking to compel arbitration.

A federal court has jurisdiction to enforce an arbitration agreement if it would have jurisdiction to hear the “controversy between the parties,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit said, citing Section 4 of the Federal Arbitration Act. The district judge who dismissed ADT’s case for lack of jurisdiction improperly expanded the term “parties” beyond its statutory ...