When the parties have agreed that the arbitrator will decide arbitrability issues, a court may not refuse to compel arbitration on the ground that the argument that the dispute is arbitrable is “wholly groundless.” The FAA contains no statutory language supporting a wholly groundless exception, and AT&T Technologies, Inc. v. Communications Workers of America (1986) 475 U.S. 643 nixed a similar exception, holding that a court must submit a dispute to arbitration even if it thinks one party’s position on the merits is frivolous.
United States Supreme Court (Kavanaugh, J.); January 8, 2019; 139 S. Ct. 524