Can an arbitration agreement preempt the power of a bankruptcy court? This question lies at the center of the dispute in Goldman Sachs Bank USA v. Brown. (Donald Swanson, Mediatbankry). The Appellees allege that Appellant, Goldman Sachs, violated an automatic bankruptcy stay provision by continuing to make debt collection calls following Appellee’s bankruptcy filing. (Caroline Simson, Law 360). Under the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, violation of this automatic stay provision would entitle Appellees to punitive damages to be determined by the bankruptcy court judge. (11 U.S.C. § 362(k) (2026)). Goldman Sachs argues that this dispute should be resolved under an arbitration agreement present in the credit card agreements rather than in bankruptcy court, citing the primacy of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) over Bankruptcy Court rules. (Angélica Serrano-Román, Bloomberg Law). Following the Fourth Circuit’s ruling in favor of Appellees, Goldman Sachs filed a petition for a writ of certiorari. (Caroline Simson, Law 360). Goldman Sach’s argument for requiring arbitration in this matter relies heavily on the case Epic Sys. Corp. v. Lewis. (National Consumer Bankruptcy Rights Center). This article will examine Goldman Sach’s argument for their motion to compel arbitration as well as explore how following precedent established under the Epic Systems case or a core approach to bankruptcy law might lead to rejecting or affirming the lower court rulings which denied arbitration.
Read MoreOn March 25, 2025, the Delaware legislature enacted Senate Substitution 1 for Senate Bill 21 (“SB21”) into law. (Delaware General Assembly). SB21 limits the scope of the State’s Court of Chancery jurisdiction to hear certain complaints from shareholders regarding transactions between corporations and their directors. Id.
Delaware is a popular domicile for many corporations around the United States with more than 2.1 million legally incorporated entities. (Delaware Division of Corporations, Delaware.gov). Notably, Delaware is the domicile for nearly 66% of Fortune 500 Companies, and over 80% of all U.S. based initial public offerings (“IPOs”), passed the bill to ensure that large corporations incorporated in the state did not reincorporate in states which may provide better protections against lawsuits from minority shareholders. (Lauren Hisch & Michael de la Merced, New York Times). The state and the 1.06 million Delawareans who live there heavily rely on corporate revenue. Id.
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