Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services Inc. v. Weiler

(1) Whether the Federal Arbitration Act pre-empts a state rule that denies enforcement of a cost-sharing provision in an arbitration agreement without a finding that the provision violates a general principle of state contract law; and (2) whether the Supreme Court"s decision in Howsam v. Dean Witter Reynolds Inc. requires an arbitrator to decide who pays arbitration costs, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit has held, or allows a court to decide, as the California Court of Appeal decided below.