Summary

QUESTION PRESENTED

Chapter 1 of the Federal Arbitration Act incorporates "background principles of state contract law" that govern nonsignatory enforcement of contracts. Arthur Andersen LLP v. Carlisle, 556 U.S. 624, 630 (2009). Nonconflicting provisions of Chapter 1 apply under Chapter 2, which implements the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. 9 U.S.C. § 208. In GE Energy Power Conversion France SAS, Corp. v. Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC, 590 U.S. 432, 440 (2020), this Court found no conflict between Chapter 1 and the Convention on nonsignatory-enforcement doctrines, observing that the Convention is "simply silent" on them.

American insurers seek to compel Louisiana public entities to arbitrate state-law claims. Each American insurer has its own arbitration agreement with each public entity. But each American insurer aims to abandon its own arbitration agreement and invoke the separate arbitration agreement each public entity has with two foreign insurers--neither of which faces any claim for relief. Assuming the Convention has any relevance without a justiciable controversy involving a foreign party, the question presented is:

Whether the Convention's "silen[ce]," GE Energy, 590 U.S. at 440, on equitable estoppel required the courts below to break with Arthur Andersen and Chapter 1 and compel arbitration by creating federal common law displacing "background principles of state contract law," Arthur Andersen, 556 U.S. at 630.

...

CONCLUSION:

The petition should be denied.

...