{"argument_date":"2000-10-03T00:00:00Z","arguments":[{"argument_date":"2000-10-03T00:00:00Z","heading":"What happened at the argument","official_detail_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcript/2000","official_transcript_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","paragraphs":["Mr. Phillips argued the appellate court showed hostility toward arbitration.","Mr. Sellers argued the Federal Arbitration Act allows judges to dismiss cases.","Mr. Phillips noted the opposing side made reasonable litigation choices during discovery.","Chief Justice Rehnquist closed the argument by stating the case was submitted."],"reargument":false,"sequence":1,"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 27, lines 13-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 27, lines 13-7"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 17-47","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 17-47"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 5-15","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 5-15"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 54, lines 35-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 54, lines 35-17"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 56, lines 33-35","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 56, lines 33-35"}]}],"caption":"Green Tree Financial Corp.-Ala. v. Randolph","case_history":[{"changed_at":"2026-08-29T20:06:33.807825Z","explanation":"An official oral-argument transcript was verified.","status":"argued"},{"changed_at":"2026-08-29T20:06:33.839814Z","explanation":"An official oral-argument transcript was verified.","status":"argued"}],"case_status":"argued","dek":"The dispute centers on whether a federal judge must pause a lawsuit to allow arbitration or can end the case entirely.","dek_sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 27, lines 13-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 27, lines 13-7"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 17-47","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 17-47"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 54, lines 35-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 54, lines 35-17"}],"dispositions":[],"latest_court_document_date":"2000-10-03T00:00:00Z","maturity":"official_transcript","official_detail_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcript/2000","official_disposition_urls":[],"official_docket_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/99-1235.html","primary_docket":"99-1235","revisions":[{"correction_note":"Rewritten to the concise citizen-facing editorial standard.","created_at":"2026-08-31T22:54:34.639218Z","maturity":"official_transcript","revision_number":1},{"correction_note":"Migrated to the dated official Court activity contract without model use.","created_at":"2026-09-05T03:22:24Z","maturity":"official_transcript","revision_number":2}],"schema_version":"1.1","sections":[{"heading":"What this case is about","paragraphs":["This case tests the power of federal judges over arbitration clauses. One side argues judges must pause cases to let arbitrators decide. The other side argues judges can dismiss cases if they find arbitration unfair."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 27, lines 13-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 27, lines 13-7"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 17-47","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 17-47"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 54, lines 35-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 54, lines 35-17"}]},{"heading":"How the case got here","paragraphs":["The Supreme Court heard oral argument in this case on October 3, 2000."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 5-15","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 5-15"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 56, lines 33-35","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 56, lines 33-35"}]},{"heading":"What each side wants","paragraphs":["the side that brought the case wants the Supreme Court to restore the lower court's dismissal of the lawsuit.","the opposing side wants the Supreme Court to reinstate the lawsuit and force arbitration."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 27, lines 13-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 27, lines 13-7"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 17-47","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 17-47"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 54, lines 35-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 54, lines 35-17"}]},{"heading":"What each side says","paragraphs":["the side that brought the case argues the appellate court showed hostility toward arbitration by dismissing the case.","the opposing side argues the Federal Arbitration Act allows judges to dismiss cases rather than just pausing them."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 27, lines 13-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 27, lines 13-7"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 17-47","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 17-47"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 54, lines 35-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 54, lines 35-17"}]},{"heading":"What the justices asked","paragraphs":["Chief Justice Rehnquist asked if the case was submitted after the arguments concluded."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 56, lines 33-35","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 56, lines 33-35"}]},{"heading":"Why it matters","paragraphs":["This case defines the balance of power between judges and private arbitrators. It determines whether judges can end disputes or must pause them for private resolution. The outcome shapes how millions of consumer contracts are enforced."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 27, lines 13-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 27, lines 13-7"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 17-47","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 17-47"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 54, lines 35-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 54, lines 35-17"}]},{"heading":"What happens next","paragraphs":["This article currently covers the argument record. Use the official docket link for later case activity."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 5-15","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 5-15"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 56, lines 33-35","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 56, lines 33-35"}]}],"slug":"2000-99-1235-green-tree-financial-corp-ala-v-randolph","term":"2000","title":"Can a court dismiss a case instead of pausing it to force arbitration?","title_sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 27, lines 13-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 27, lines 13-7"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 17-47","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 17-47"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 54, lines 35-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2000/99-1235.pdf","page_label":"file page 54, lines 35-17"}],"topics":[],"undated_disposition_date_fallback":null,"updated_at":"2026-09-05T03:22:24Z"}