Enforcement Upon the Unwitting: The Overreaching Ability of Courts to Appoint Substitute Arbitration Forums Under the Federal Arbitration Act

• Author: Zachary M. Rupiper
• Position: J.D. Candidate, The University of Iowa College of Law, 2015; B.A., University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2012
• Pages: 411-430

411

Enforcement Upon the Unwitting: The

Overreaching Ability of Courts to Appoint

Substitute Arbitration Forums Under the

Federal Arbitration Act

Zachary M. Rupiper



ABSTRACT: Section 5 of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) allows courts

to appoint a replacement arbitration forum when the designated arbitration

forum is unavailable. However, it is unclear how far the power to replace

extends, with the Seventh Circuit in 2013 deepening a current circuit split

involving the section 5 replacement power. The Third, Fi fth, and Eleventh

Circuits recognize the integral-part rule, which does not allow a court to

appoint a replacement arbitration forum if the designation of the forum in

the contract is considered integral. The Seventh Circuit is the lone circuit that

has rejected the integral-part rule in its entirety and allows the appointment

of a replacement arbitration forum no matter the contract. Furthermore, of the

circuits that recognize the integral-part rule, only the Fifth Circuit has applied

the rule in a way that recognizes an arbitration forum designation as integral.

This Note recommends that the Supreme Court adopt the integral-part rule

and the application of the rule that finds arbitration forum designations

integral to a contract. Such action by the Supreme Court would be justified by

traditional contract principles and the congressional intent of the FAA.

 J.D. Candidate, The University of Iowa College of Law, 2015; B.A., University of

Nebraska-Lincoln, 2012. A sincere thank you to the Iowa Law Review editors and my wife for all

their support.

412 IOWA LAW REVIEW [Vol. 100:411

I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 413

II. THE FEDERAL ARBITRATION ACT .................................................. 414

A. PURPOSE AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ................................. 414

B. SUPREME COURT INTERPRETATIONS OF THE FEDERAL ARBITRATION

ACT ........................................................................................ 416

C. SECTION 5 OF THE FEDERAL ARBITRATION ACT ........................ 417

III. THE CURRENT CIRCUIT SPLIT ....................................................... 418

A. INTEGRAL-PART RULE ............................................................. 419

1. The Eleventh and Third Circuits ................................. 420

2. The Fifth Circuit ............................................................ 420

3. The Seventh Circuit ...................................................... 421

B. APPLICATION OF THE INTEGRAL-PART RULE ............................. 422

1. The Third and Eleventh Circuits ................................. 422

2. The Fifth Circuit ............................................................ 423

IV. THE SUPREME COURT SHOULD ADOPT THE INTEGRAL-PART RULE

AND THE FIFTH CIRCUIT’S APPLICATION ...................................... 423

A. ADOPTION OF THE INTEGRAL-PART RULE ................................. 424

1. Traditional Contract Principles ................................... 424

2. Congressional Intent of the FAA ................................. 427

B. ADOPTION OF THE FIFTH CIRCUIT’S APPLICATION OF THE

INTEGRAL-PART RULE ............................................................. 428

1. Traditional Contract Principles ................................... 428

2. Congressional Intent of the FAA ................................. 430

V. CONCLUSION ................................................................................ 430