Federal Insurance Company v. Kert Reedstrom

Summary

The Alabama Supreme Court reversed the Marshall Circuit Court’s denial of Federal Insurance’s motion to compel arbitration of Reedstrom’s breach‑of‑contract claim and remanded for entry of an order granting that motion. The Court held that, because the policy incorporated the American Arbitration Association’s commercial rules, which give arbitrators authority over jurisdiction and arbitrability, the trial court should not have decided the waiver and nonsignatory issues. Two dissenting opinions argued that the majority improperly delegates those threshold questions to arbitrators and that arbitration agreements cannot waive constitutional jury‑trial rights without a knowing, voluntary assent.