5-Star General Store v. American Express Company

Summary

The court affirmed the denial of Amex's motion to stay the litigation and compel arbitration. It held that the district court had authority to decide whether Amex defaulted under the Federal Arbitration Act and that Amex waived arbitration by deliberately refusing to pay filing fees despite repeated warnings that the arbitrations would be closed. The court also upheld the finding that 5-Star did not have unclean hands.