Prima Paint Corp. v. Flood & Conklin Mfg. Co.

This case presents the question whether the federal court or an arbitrator is to resolve a claim of “fraud in *397the inducement/’ under a contract governed by the United States Arbitration Act of 1925,1 where there is no evidence that the contracting parties intended to withhold that issue from arbitration.

The question arises from the following set of facts. On October 7, 1964, respondent, Flood & Conklin Manufacturing Company, a New Jersey corporation, entered into what was styled a “Consulting Agreement,” with petitioner, Prima Paint Corporation, a Maryland corporation. This agreement followed…