Issue of Which Panel Should Interpret Contract is 'Procedural,' 4th Circuit Rules

RICHMOND, Va. - In a contractual dispute implicating the overlapping jurisdiction of two arbitration panels, the procedural question of which arbitration panel should interpret the contract is for the arbitrators, rather than the court, to decide, the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has affirmed. Central West Virginia Energy Inc. v. Bayer Cropscience LP, Nos. 10-1706, 10-1934 (4th Cir.).

In a July 14 opinion, the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals further ruled that the recent U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Stolt-Nielsen S.A. v. AnimalFeeds Int'l Corp. (U.S., 130 S. Ct. 1758 [2010]) does not stand for the proposition that …