The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Monday in two separate cases regarding the Federal Arbitration Act.

At issue in the first case, Henry Schein Inc. v. Archer and White Sales Inc., is whether a court must submit a matter to arbitration if the court determines that the claim is “wholly groundless.” The petitioner argued, “A court does not have the power to decide the issue of arbitrability for itself and to short-circuit the arbitrator’s ability to do so.” The petitioner also said the FAA contains no exception for claims determined to be “wholly groundless.” The respondent argued that the “wholly groundless” exception is supported by the text and legislative history of the FAA.

At issue in Lamps Plus Inc. v. Varela is whether the FAA prevents a state-law interpretation that would permit class arbitration based only on the general language of an arbitration clause. The petitioner argued, using prior case law, that there is a “minimum standard” required by federal law before class arbitration is permitted. The respondent argued that state contract law should determine whether class arbitration is permissible because the FAA allows for state contract law to fill gaps.