5th Circuit Rules En Banc That Arbitration Treaty Trumps State Law

[Editor's note: Sheila Carpenter is a partner with Jorden Burt, LLP, resident in the firm's Washington, D.C. office. She has served as an arbitrator in approximately 100 arbitrations and is an ARIAS-certified arbitrator. For further information please contact Sheila Carpenter ([email protected] or (202) 965-8100). This article does not constitute legal or other professional advice or service by Jorden Burt LLP and/or its attorneys.]

In Safety National Casualty Corporation v. Certain Underwriters At Lloyd's, London, --- F.3d ----, 2009 WL 3722727 (5th Cir. (La.)), the 5th Circuit considered en banc the question of whether the McCarran-Ferguson Act caused Louisiana state law …