Petitioners ‘Gratified’ SCOTUS Saw Arbitration Issues ‘Our Way,’ Says Lead Attorney

Thursday’s unanimous decision in Smith v. Spizzirri in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that Section 3 of the Federal Arbitration Act requires district courts to stay cases that are headed for arbitration rather than dismissing them (see 2405160028) “establishes the proper way for federal courts to handle arbitration cases across the country,” said the petitioners’ lead attorney, Haynes Boone partner Daniel Geyser, in an email Thursday. The decision “secures a necessary backstop that protects litigant rights if an arbitration falls through,” said Geyser, who chairs his firm’s U.S. Supreme Court practice. The decision prevents “premature appeals that undermine the FAA’s scheme,” he said. It also “protects the ability of federal courts to seamlessly facilitate the underlying arbitration,” and it advances the FAA's “core purposes” by “eliminating waste, avoiding unnecessary litigation, and sending parties to arbitration as quickly as possible,” he said. The court’s decision “is short, sweet, and exactly right,” he said. “We are gratified the Court saw the issues our way, and we are thrilled for our clients, who are now positioned to obtain a long-awaited adjudication of their claims,” he said. Petitioners Wendy Smith, Michelle Martinez and Kenneth Turner are current and former drivers for an on-demand delivery service who initiated their suit for alleged violations of federal and state employment laws in an Arizona state court in July 2021. The petitioners conceded that all their claims were arbitrable, but they argued that Section 3 required the district court to stay the action pending arbitration rather than dismissing it entirely. The district court nevertheless issued an order compelling arbitration and dismissing the case without prejudice, and the 9th Circuit affirmed.