Coronado Coal II, LLC v. Blackhawk Land and Resources, LLC

Summary

The Court affirmed dismissal of Coronado’s complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because the parties’ arbitration clause covered the dispute over Blackhawk’s rejection of Coronado’s retreat-mining plans. The Court held that “performance by the Lessee” was not limited to mining actions already completed, but also encompassed proposed future operations and the asserted right to perform them. The Court also rejected Coronado’s alternative argument that the arbitration clause was ambiguous.