One Supreme Court Arbitration Case To Watch This Fall

First Tuesday Update is our monthly take on current issues in commercial disputes, international arbitration, and judgment enforcement. 

This fall, the US Supreme Court will consider the question of whether the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York Convention), permits a nonsignatory to an arbitration agreement to compel arbitration based on the doctrine of equitable estoppel. This is an important issue in many different commercial contexts. When parties to a contract with an arbitration clause enter into other relationships with other nonsignatories (for example, a subcontractor or supplier), it is not always clear whether disputes involving those nonsignatories are arbitrable. If the crux of the dispute is the failed performance of a nonsignatory, this creates a potential barrier to arbitration. The US Supreme Court now has a chance to clarify this issue in GE Energy Power Conversion France SAS, Corp. v. Outokumpu