Kindred Nursing Centers Limited Partnership v. Clark (U.S. Supreme Court)

The Supreme Court of Kentucky refused to enforce the parties’ arbitration agreements because it held that the attorneys-in-fact who signed those agreements lacked authority to enter into arbitration agreements—despite broad powers of attorney, including the power to make “contracts.” Instead, the state court concluded that only an express mention of arbitration agreements in the power of attorney permits an attorney-in-fact to bind her principal to an arbitration agreement, even though Kentucky law does not require such an express mention of any other type of contract. The U.S. Supreme Court granted our petition for certiorari to decide whether the Federal Arbitration Act preempts a state-law rule that singles out arbitration for disfavored treatment.