The United States Supreme Court continued the pro-arbitration
trend in its jurisprudence, as well as its strict construction of
the Federal Arbitration Act, in its unanimous decision in Henry
Schein, Inc. v. Archer & White Sales, Inc., No.
17-1272, 2019 WL 122164 (U.S. Jan. 8, 2019). Resolving a division
in the Circuits on the issue, the Court held that where the parties
delegate the "gateway" issue of arbitrability to the
arbitrator, the court may not apply a judicially created
"wholly groundless" exception to avoid delegation.1
Case Background
Archer and White Sales, Inc., a small business that distributes
dental equipment and the plaintiff below, sued a dental equipment
manufacturer and Schein, a major distributor of the equipment, for
federal and state law antitrust violations. The relevant agreement
between the parties provided that disputes "arising under or
relating to" the agreement "shall be resolved by binding
arbitration in accordance with the rules of
