Cite as: 538 U. S. 401 (2003)
Opinion of the Court
quantum meruit. In re: Managed Care Litigation, 132 F. Supp. 2d 989, 992 (SD Fla. 2000).
Of particular concern here, PacifiCare and United moved the District Court to compel arbitration, arguing that provisions in their contracts with respondents required arbitration of these disputes, including those arising under RICO. Ibid. Respondents opposed the motion on the ground that, because the arbitration provisions prohibit an award of punitive damages, see App. 107, 147, 168, 212, respondents could not obtain "meaningful relief" in arbitration for their claims under the RICO statute, which authorizes treble damages, 18 U. S. C. § 1964(c). See Paladino v. Avnet Computer Technologies, Inc., 134 F. 3d 1054, 1062 (CA11 1998) (holding that where a remedial limitation in an arbitration agreement prevents a plaintiff from obtaining "meaningful relief" for a statutory claim, the agreement to arbitrate is unenforceable with respect to that claim).
The District Court denied petitioners' request to compel arbitration of the RICO claims. 132 F. Supp. 2d, at 1007. The court concluded that given the remedial limitations in the relevant contracts, it was, indeed, "faced with a potential Paladino situation . . . , where the plaintiff may not be able to obtain meaningful relief for allegations of statutory violations in an arbitration forum." Id., at 1005. Accordingly, it found the arbitration agreements unenforceable with respect to respondents' RICO claims. Id., at 1007. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed "for the reasons set forth in [the District Court's] comprehensive opinion," In re: Humana Inc. Managed Care Litigation, 285 F. 3d 971, 973 (2002), and we granted certiorari, 537 U. S. 946 (2002).
II
Petitioners argue that whether the remedial limitations render their arbitration agreements unenforceable is not a question of "arbitrability," and hence should have been decided by an arbitrator, rather than a court, in the first in-
403
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