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NJ Rule 2:9:1 states:

When an appeal is taken from an order compelling or denying arbitration, the trial court shall retain jurisdiction to address issues relating to claims and parties that remain in that court unless otherwise ordered by the appellate court possessing supervision and control

How is this rule consistent with the ruling by the Third Circuit in Ehleiter v. Grapetree Shores, Inc., 482 F.3d 207 (3d Cir. 2007)?

In the above case, the Third Circuit noted the existence of “a circuit split on the question of whether the filing of an interlocutory appeal pursuant to Section 16(a) of the FAA automatically deprives the trial court of jurisdiction to proceed until such time as the appeal is fully litigated or determined to be frivolous or forfeited,” and “expressed agreement with the majority rule of automatic divestiture where the Section 16(a) appeal is neither frivolous nor forfeited.”

Isn't the the Appellate Division in NJ required to uphold the ruling of the Third Circuit in such matters?

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Isn't the the Appellate Division in NJ required to uphold the ruling of the Third Circuit in such matters?

It is not.

There can be no conflict on procedural issues between the Third Circuit, which is interpreting federal rules of civil and appellate procedure, and a ruling of a New Jersey court which is interpreting state rules of civil and appellate procedure.

Different court systems have different procedural rules. Federal rules of procedure are inapplicable in state courts. State rules of procedure are inapplicable in federal courts.

The circuit split referred to is between different federal appellate court circuits interpreting the federal rules of civil and appellate procedure. But none of those rules are applicable to state courts.

Furthermore, even if a question of substantive federal law were involved, the state courts of New Jersey are only required to follow precedents of the U.S. Supreme Court and higher appellate courts in the New Jersey state court system.

Decisions of the Third Circuit on questions of federal law are not binding on the courts of New Jersey despite the fact that New Jersey is located in the Third Circuit, even though they are persuasive authority on questions of substantive federal law that are equally applicable in both court systems.

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  • How is this a "procedural rule"? Right now this question is before the Supreme Court in Coinbase vs Bielski. Is the Supreme Court being asked to answer a "procedural" question or a question of federal law?
    – S.O.S
    Commented Mar 15, 2023 at 0:36
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    I think you're setting up a false dichotomy. There are federal-law questions and there are state-law questions. And in both groups, there are substantive questions and there are procedural questions. Coinbase asks a question that is both procedural and federal, which is completely normal.
    – bdb484
    Commented Mar 15, 2023 at 2:21
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    The question you're asking is procedural because it governs the procedure of how cases are resolved, regardless of the substantive area of law the case concerns (torts, contracts, property, divorce, etc.). When there's an appeal of a denial of a stay, the procedure for the trial court to follow is that it retains jurisdiction over the remaining parties and claims.
    – bdb484
    Commented Mar 15, 2023 at 2:21
  • @bdb484 I'm confused. The question in Coinbase vs Bielski is whether an appeal of a denial to compel arbitration divests the trial court of jurisdiction on all matters subject to the arbitration agreement as a matter of law. If the Supreme Court rules that it does, how can a state devise "procedural" rules that conflict with federal law / FAA? The state is not allowed to create laws that conflict with federal law.
    – S.O.S
    Commented Mar 15, 2023 at 3:15
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    Arbitration is outside my wheelhouse, but I don't think the FAA says anything about whether a trial court retains jurisdiction to consider a case while a party appeals the denial of a motion to compel. If that's correct, then this isn't a question about whether the FAA pre-empts state law; it's just a question of how the courts process these claims. The state courts are generally free to answer such questions differently than the federal courts.
    – bdb484
    Commented Mar 15, 2023 at 3:52

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