Supreme Court upholds personal injury arbitration agreements

On February 21, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Marmet Health Care Center v. Brown that a state may not categorically prohibit agreements to arbitrate personal injury or wrongful death claims against nursing homes.  There, the Supreme Court of West Virginia held that such agreements were unenforceable as a matter of public policy.  The U.S. Supreme Court vacated the decision, concluding that the state’s public policy was preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act.