Doctor’s Associates, Inc. v. Casarotto

Summary

The Court, in an opinion by Justice Ginsburg joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justices Stevens, O'Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, and Breyer, held that the Federal Arbitration Act preempts Montana's requirement that notice of arbitration appear in underlined capital letters on the first page of a contract. States may apply generally applicable contract defenses to arbitration agreements, but may not impose special enforceability requirements solely on arbitration provisions. The Court reversed the Montana Supreme Court's judgment and remanded. Justice Thomas dissented alone, maintaining that § 2 of the Act does not apply to proceedings in state courts.