John Doe, et al. v. Airbnb, Inc.
AdministrativeLaw Arbitration Privacy
Whether the provision in an arbitration agreement that the arbitration will be administered under a particular set of procedural rules, which give the arbitrator the power to rule on arbitrability, is sufficient to establish 'clear and unmistakable evidence' of the parties' intent to have the arbitrator decide the question of arbitrability
QUESTION PRESENTED When parties enter into an arbitration agreement, it is presumed that they intend for a court, not an arbitrator, to decide whether any future disputes will be arbitrable under the agreement. First Options of Chicago, Inc. v. Kaplan, 514 U.S. 938, 944 (1995). That presumption can be overcome, but only when “clear and unmistakable” evidence shows the parties’ intent to have an arbitrator decide the arbitrability question instead of a court. Id. The question presented is: If a form arbitration agreement provides that an arbitration, if it occurs, will be administered using a particular set of procedural rules, and those rules say an arbitrator has the power to rule on the arbitrability of a claim, is that enough, on its own, to establish “clear and unmistakable evidence” of the contracting parties’ intent to have an arbitrator decide the question of arbitrability?