US Supreme Court Decides that Federal Courts Have Jurisdiction to Vacate or Confirm Arbitration Awards if the Court Previously Stayed the Claims Pending Arbitration

A case involving a $34,500 arbitration award was the vehicle for the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve an issue that has divided the federal appeals courts: whether a federal court that has previously stayed claims in a pending action under § 3 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) has jurisdiction to confirm or vacate a resulting arbitral award on those claims, even when the motion to confirm under § 9 of the FAA or the motion to vacate under § 10 does not independently present a basis for federal jurisdiction on its face. In a unanimous decision in Jules v.