Let's take a gander at the federal arbitration act:
"A written provision in any maritime transaction or a contract evidencing a transaction involving commerce to settle by arbitration a controversy ...
shall be valid, irrevocable, and enforceable, save upon such grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract."
Want to guess what grounds exist at law and equity for the revocation of a contract?
:)
Note also the now-common practice of requiring individual arbitration is not well-tested in court either. The FAA pretty clearly preempts court class actions when there are mandatory arbitration provisions. However, it is silent, and it's purpose unrelated, to whether that arbitration is individual or class arbitration. It seems likely to me that a state could reasonably say forcing individual arbitration was against their public policy, and not have that pre-empted by the FAA.
Want to guess what grounds exist at law and equity for the revocation of a contract? :)
Note also the now-common practice of requiring individual arbitration is not well-tested in court either. The FAA pretty clearly preempts court class actions when there are mandatory arbitration provisions. However, it is silent, and it's purpose unrelated, to whether that arbitration is individual or class arbitration. It seems likely to me that a state could reasonably say forcing individual arbitration was against their public policy, and not have that pre-empted by the FAA.