Mitsubishi Motors Corporation v. Soler Chrysler-Plymouth, Inc. (1984)
- Docket
- 83-1569
- Decided
- 1984-01-01
Summary
Question: Should an American court enforce an agreement to arbitrate antitrust claims when that agreement arises from an international transaction? Conclusion: Yes. Justice Harry A. Blackmun, writing for a 5-4 majority, affirmed in part and reversed in part and remanded. The Supreme Court held that claims arising under the Sherman Act and encompassed in a valid arbitration clause in an international commercial transaction are arbitrable under the federal Arbitration Act. Justice John Paul Stevens dissented, arguing that a fair construction of the arbitration clause does not encompass antitrust claims. An arbitration clause should be construed to cover a remedy it does not expressly identify, and congress did not intend the federal Arbitration Act of apply to antitrust claims. Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. joined in the dissent. Justice Thurgood Marshall joined in all but part II of the dissent.