Drafting an arbitration provision that complies with the standards articulated by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Atalese v. U.S. Legal Services Group, 219 N.J. 430 (2014), is a necessary first step to ensuring a New Jersey dispute is resolved through arbitration. But what happens when the other side in a dispute challenges the applicability of the underlying contract that contains such an arbitration provision? Is it for the arbitrator or the court to decide the provision’s applicability? The answer: it depends, absent a well-drafted arbitration provision that can eliminate this uncertainty and cost.
6.18.2021