Chapter 4 - § 4.2 • APPLICABILITY OF COLORADO AND FEDERAL ARBITRATION LAW

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 4.2 • APPLICABILITY OF COLORADO AND FEDERAL ARBITRATION LAW

Whether state or federal law governs the arbitration is determined by the terms of the federal and state arbitration acts, the U.S. constitutional provision providing for supremacy of federal law (preemption by federal law), and the agreement of the parties. The extent of preemption of state law by federal law is defined by case law.

In Colorado state courts, the statutory law that may be applicable to an arbitration includes:

• The Colorado state statutes — the Colorado Revised Uniform Arbitration Act (CRUAA), C.R.S. §§ 13-22-201 (2016), et seq.;
• The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), 9 U.S.C. §§ 1, et seq.; or
• The substantive arbitration law of another state pursuant to Colorado choice-of-law rules.

(The CRUAA and the CUAA utilize the same statutory numbers. Hence, in citing to either, it must be explicitly stated whether the citation is to the CRUAA or the CUAA, as each uses the same title, article, and section numbers. This book attempts to identify the CUAA as the 2003 statute and the CRUAA as the 2016 statute.)

State and federal common law also may be applicable. Lastly, other state or federal statutes may be applicable to a specific situation.

In the federal courts, the statutory arbitration law that may be applicable usually is:

• FAA; or
• CRUAA (or other state's arbitration statutes).

§ 4.2.1—Applicability Of State (Colorado) Arbitration Law (CRUAA)

In the Colorado courts, state arbitration law governs arbitration unless preempted (in part) by the FAA. Generally speaking, if the FAA applies, it preempts only state substantive arbitration law, while state procedural arbitration law continues to apply. However, in some instances, the FAA may preempt state procedural law. See the discussion in § 4.3.

In sum, state arbitration law governs unless and until it is established that the FAA is applicable. The FAA is applicable only if interstate commerce is involved or the parties agree to the application of the FAA. If the FAA applies, it preempts those state laws that are in conflict with or obstacles to achieving the policies of the FAA. When issues are presented in state court concerning an arbitration that is subject to the FAA, in part the FAA will be applied and in part the CRUAA will be applied.

But all arbitration is not covered by the CRUAA or FAA. The former No Fault Act, C.R.S. § 4-714 (2002), provided for mandatory arbitration. The Colorado Supreme Court held that the trial court's denial of the motion to dismiss should not be treated as a denial of a motion to compel arbitration, hence the denial was not...