United States: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration

On May 14, 2026, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision further clarifying the scope of federal jurisdiction under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”). In an opinion authored by Justice Sotomayor, the Supreme Court in Jules v. Andre Balazs Properties clarified that federal courts retain jurisdiction to confirm or vacate arbitral awards where the underlying action was properly stayed pending arbitration under Section 3 of the FAA, which requires a court to stay the case and send the dispute to arbitration when it falls within a valid arbitration agreement.

Presently, the availability of AI tools has not changed the skills expected of litigation attorneys in California. Some attorneys may be using AI for drafting and editing to improve their writing abilities. Others may use it in research to identify authorities they were not able to locate, or to locate more quickly what they could find using the many legal research and writing tools already available.

On May 14, 2026, the United States Supreme Court delivered an important win for truck crash victims and highway safety. In Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC, the Court unanimously held that federal law does not shield freight brokers from state-law claims when they negligently hire unsafe motor carriers. The ruling reverses the Seventh Circuit and confirms that negligent-hiring claims against brokers fall within the safety exception of the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act.