Hall Street Associates, L.L.C. v. Mattel, Inc (552 U.S. 576)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 25, 2008 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 552 U.S. 576 · 128 S. Ct. 1396
- Decided
- March 25, 2008
- Term
- October Term 2007
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority author
- Justice Souter
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Souter delivered the opinion of the Court, The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA or Act), 9 U. S. C. § 1 et seq., provides for expedited judicial review to confirm, vacate, or modify arbitration awards. §§ 9-11 (2006 ed.). The question here is whether statutory grounds for prompt vacatur and modification may be supplemented by contract. We hold that the statutory grounds are exclusive. I This case began as a lease dispute between landlord, petitioner Hall Street Associates, L. L. C., and tenant, respondent Mattel, Inc. The property was used for many years as a manufacturing site, and the leases provided that the tenant would indemnify the landlord for any costs resulting from the failure of the tenant or its predecessor lessees to follow environmental laws while using the premises. App. 88-89. Tests of the property’s well water in 1998 showed high levels of trichloroethylene (TCE), the apparent residue of manufacturing discharges by Mattel’s predecessors between 1951 and 1980. After the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) discovered even more pollutants, Mattel stopped drawing from the well and, along with one of its predecessors, signed a consent order with the DEQ providing for cleanup of the site. After Mattel gave notice of intent to terminate the lease in 2001, Hall Street filed this suit, contesting Mattel’s right to vacate on the date it gave, and…
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