Courts Must Consider Whether All Claims in a Suit are Arbitrable, High Court Rules

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In considering a motion to compel arbitration, a Florida appellate court erred in failing to address whether all of the claims in the complaint were arbitrable, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. KPMG LLP v. Cocchi, et al., No. 10-1521 (U.S. Sup. Ct.).

In a Nov. 7 per curiam opinion, the high court explained that the Federal Arbitration Act has been interpreted to require that if a dispute presents multiple claims, only some of which are arbitrable, those claims must be arbitrated even if it will lead to piecemeal litigation. Therefore, "state and federal courts must examine …