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Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc. v. Howsam

Court may resolve threshold issue of arbitrability where arbitration agreement between broker and customer did not clearly and unmistakably demonstrate that parties agreed that questions of arbitrability of disputes would be determined by arbitrator.

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The full case caption appears at the end of this opinion.

Plaintiff-Appellant Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc. brought this action seeking to enjoin Respondent-Appellee Karen Howsam from arbitrating a dispute between Dean Witter and Howsam with the National Association of Securities Dealers (“NASD”) on the ground that the dispute was time-barred under NASD rules. The district court concluded that the parties, in a 1992 ACCESS Client Service Agreement, had “clearly and unmistakably” agreed that all disputes between the parties, including questions regarding the arbitrability of those disputes, would be determined by an arbitrator rather than by the courts. The district court thus dismissed Dean Witter’s cause of action. Exercising jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. � 1291, we conclude that the district court erred in finding that the parties “clearly and unmistakably” agreed to allow an arbitrator, rather than the courts, to decide whether specific disputes are arbitrable. We therefore REVERSE the decision of the district court and REMAND for further proceedings.

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