BANKRUPTCY ARBITRATION AND THE UNWILLING DEBTOR

The problems that have existed between agreements to arbitrate and the reach of the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts in cases involving debt resolutio n have finally reached the boiling point. That ongoing conflict, says Jeremy Harwood, has ''almost always been resolved in favor of a debtor unwilling to abide by an arbitration agreement,'' until a 1989 case r eversed that trend. This article traces the development of the courts' approaches to enforcement of arbitration clauses in the bankruptcy co ntext and highlights the need-despite recent positive rulings-for a cl ear rule to that effect.