Assuming federal law governs the issue of waiver of the right to compel arbitration in a case to which the FAA applies, this decision holds that no showing of prejudice to the party opposing arbitration is required to support a finding that the party seeking to compel arbitration has waived the right to do so by its conduct in the litigation. Generally under federal law, waiver does not require a showing of prejudice, and the federal courts cannot construct a special contrary rule for arbitration, which is to be treated like any other contractual right under the FAA. The FAA’s “policy favoring arbitration” does not authorize federal courts to invent special, arbitration-preferring procedural rules. Instead, waiver is is the intentional relinquishment or abandonment of a known right and in assessing waiver, the court focuses on the actions of the person who held the right.