The FAA preempts Kentucky’s rule invalidating an arbitration clause entered into by an attorney-in-fact unless the power of attorney specifically authorizes the attorney-in-fact to enter into an arbitration agreement. The Kentucky rule is arbitration-specific, as general authorization suffices for other types of contract clauses. And, the justification for the rule—preserving the constitutional right to trial in court and by jury—betrays a hostility to arbitration that the FAA prohibits.
United States Supreme Court (Kagan, J.; Thomas, J., dissenting); May 15, 2017; 2017 WL 2039160