Intertwining Doctrine Law and Legal Definition
Intertwining doctrine refers to a principle that arbitration should be denied if the plaintiff presents both arbitrable and non-arbitrable claims requiring the resolution of identical facts. According to this principle, the courts can refuse to compel arbitration of any claims if arbitrable and nonarbitrable claims arise from a single transaction which are factually and legally mingled. However this doctrine has been rejected by many states as it allows the trial court to negate the effect of an arbitration clause without a statutory basis for doing so which interferes with the parties' decision to arbitrate their disputes. The U.S Supreme Court has also rejected the "intertwining doctrine" because it conflicted with the mandate of Federal Arbitration Act that arbitration agreements must be enforced.[ Dean Witter Reynolds Inc. v. Byrd, 470 U.S. 213 (U.S. 1985)]
