Although the specific issue of enforcement of arbitration agreements in bankruptcy has not yet reached the Supreme Court, it is an issue with which bankruptcy, district and circuit courts have struggled.
Despite the uncertainty, it has become less clear that involvement in a bankruptcy case does not automatically prohibit enforcement of arbitration agreements. As the Supreme Court issues more decisions eliminating exceptions and strengthening the importance of the enforcement of arbitration provisions, it seems inevitable — absent an unexpected shift — that the Court will follow their current trajectory and continue to enforce arbitration provisions, even in bankruptcy.
Angela Grewal and Jamie Olinto take a closer look at arbitration agreements in the context of recent Supreme Court decisions in an article they co-authored for the May 2019 edition of the ABI Journal, a publication of the American Bankruptcy Institute.