By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//March 24, 2015//
Wisconsin Supreme Court
Civil
Civil Procedure – Arbitration
Timeliness and estoppel defenses against arbitration are to be determined in the arbitration proceedings, not by a court in a proceeding under Wis. Stat. § 788.03 to compel arbitration.
“In sum, Howsam, BG Group, and Kimberly Area School District demonstrate that a court’s role in an action to compel arbitration is limited. If the arbitration agreement could cover the subject matter of the dispute, which is an issue of substantive arbitrability, the court must order arbitration and resolve all doubts as to the scope of the agreement in favor of compelling arbitration. Issues like timeliness or estoppel are matters of procedural arbitrability to be determined during the arbitration process, not by a court, unless the parties agreed otherwise.”
Reversed and Remanded.
2013AP1205 First Weber Group, Inc., v. Synergy Real Estate Group, LLC
Ziegler, J.