Supreme Court Docket Report - Decision Alert - March 9, 2008

Originally published March 9, 2009

Keywords: Vaden v. Discover Bank, credit card debt, finance charges, credit laws, FAA, Federal Deposit Insurance Act

Today the Supreme Court issued a decision, described below, of interest to the business community.

Vaden v. Discover Bank, No. 07-773 (previously discussed in March 17, 2008 Docket Report).

Section 4 of the Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA"), 9 U.S.C. § 4, authorizes a district court to rule on a petition to compel arbitration if, "save for [the arbitration] agreement" at issue, the court would have jurisdiction of "a suit arising out of the controversy between the parties." Today, in Vaden v. Discover Bank, No. 07-773, the Supreme Court held that § 4 confers jurisdiction if the underlying, substantive "controversy between the parties" arises under federal law, rejecting the contention that "the parties' discrete dispute over the arbitrability of their claims" must itself provide a jurisdictional basis for the