October 23, 2012
Previously published on October 11, 2012
The Georgia Supreme Court held last week that an order denying a motion to compel arbitration is not directly appealable by a party seeking to enforce an arbitration provision. American General Financial Services v. Jape, 2012 WL 4475691 (Ga. Sup. Ct. Oct. 1, 2012). With the Jape decision, Georgia joins a growing number of states-including Arizona, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Oregon-that have ruled that the direct appeal provision of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), 9 U.S.C. § 16(a)(1)(B), does not preempt state procedural rules restricting interlocutory appeals.
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