Arbitrator Should Decide Whether Dispute Falls Within The Scope Of The Arbitration Clause

U.S. Nutraceuticals, LLC v. Cyanotech Corp.

Addressing who should decide whether a dispute falls within the scope of an arbitration clause, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit reversed a district court's denial of a motion to compel arbitration and remanded the case for an order compelling arbitration. U.S. Nutraceuticals, LLC v. Cyanotech Corp., No. 13-12863, 2014 WL 5471913 (11th Cir., Oct. 30, 2014) (Pryor, J.) (Wilson, J., dissenting).

The dispute over the scope of the arbitration clause existed because the clause changed over the course of the parties' history.  In the parties' initial agreement, all disputes were to be resolved in arbitration.  In 2010, however, the parties amended the agreement and, in relevant part, carved out of the arbitration clause disputes relating to the breach of the confidentiality provision of the parties' agreement.  When one party sued the other for tortious interference and breach of the confidentiality provision, the