2016-2025 Arbitration Decisions

A collection of the most recent U.S. international arbitration decisions is available here. Decisions can be quickly retrieved by using the filter tools below.

• National Indemnity Company v. IRB Brasil Resseguros S.A., No. 15 Civ. 3975 (NRB) (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 10, 2016)

  03/10/2016

  Court granted petition to confirm three awards, finding, inter alia, no "evident partiality" of an umpire so as to warrant vacatur.

• Reed v. Johnson, No. 4:14-CV-176-SA-JMV (N.D. Miss. Mar. 9, 2016)

  03/09/2016

  Motion to compel arbitration granted; the arbitration agreement was not procedurally unconscionable under Mississippi law. 
   

  See also Reed v. Johnson, No. 4:14CV176-SA-JMV (N.D. Miss. Jan. 4, 2016)
  Motion to compel arbitration held in abeyance until court can complete a trial on issue of whether plaintiff signed the arbitration agreement.

• Thai-Lao Lignite (Thailand) Co. Ltd. v. Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, No. 10-CV-5256 (KMW) (DCF) (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 8, 2016)

  03/09/2016

  Petitioner's motion for leave to commence execution and discovery in aid of its earlier sanctions order against respondent denied.  Respondent was entitled to invoke its statutory set off right in respect of its sanction obligations without first obtaining a judgment from a US court.

• Rogers v. Ausdal Financial Partners, Inc., No. 1:15-CV-12899-FDS (D. Mass. Mar. 9, 2016)

  03/09/2016

  Motion to vacate arbitration award denied and cross-motion to enforce arbitration award granted. The issues in dispute do not fall within one of the narrow statutory grounds that permit an arbitration award to be overturned.

• Rio Tinto Plc. v. Vale S.A., No. 1:14-CV-03042-RMB (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 9, 2016)

  03/09/2016

  Court held it has the power to modify a previously issued protective order and, therefore, approved defendant's request to modify that protective order to allow documents to be produced in an LCIA arbitration.
   

  See also Rio Tinto Plc. v. Vale S.A., No. 1:14-CV-03042-RMB (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 25, 2016)
  Court affirmed prior March 9, 2016 decision and order of a magistrate judge.

• TGI Systems Corp. v. Jens Giessler, No. 15 C 4341 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 8, 2016)

  03/08/2016

  Defendants motion to dismiss denied. Defendants may not seek advantages of arbitration agreement to which they are non-signatories and have not established any of the exceptions for non-signatories.

• Navarette v. Silversea Cruises Ltd., No. 1:14-CV-20593 (S.D. Fla. Mar. 7, 2016)

  03/07/2016

  Court granted cross-motion to confirm international arbitration award, denying petition to set the award aside.  Court rejected argument that award offended US public policy, disagreeing with the legal interpretation of a Jones Act issue urged by plaintiff and holding that plaintiff could not meet the high threshold imposed by the FAA, regardless.  It noted that “even if the Court disagreed with the result, the finding . . . does not ‘so offend public policy’ that it should be set aside because ‘[a]n arbitrator’s result may be wrong; it may appear unsupported; it may appear poorly reasoned; it may appear foolish. Yet, it may not be subject to court interference.’”

• Dillon v. BMO Harris Bank, N.A., No. 1:13-CV-00897-CCF-LPA (M.D.N.C. Mar. 4, 2016)

  03/04/2016

  Court denied motion to dismiss in favor of arbitration, finding that contract contains provisions that “convert a choice of law clause into a choice of no law clause” and that “flatly and categorically renounce the authority of the federal statutes to which [the defendant] is and must remain subject.”

• Hatemi v. M & T Bank, No. 14-4338-CV (2d Cir. Mar. 4, 2016)

  03/04/2016

  District court’s order denying motion to compel arbitration reversed; agreement that included an arbitration clause for all issues related to a bank account applied to the overdraft account, even though the overdraft account had a separate agreement that did not incorporate an arbitration clause.
   

  See also Hatemi v. M & T Bank, No. 113-CV-01103 (W.D.N.Y. Apr. 6, 2016)
  Upon remand from the second circuit, court directs parties to arbitration and stays the case pending the outcome of the arbitration proceedings in light of second circuit's decision in Katz v. Cellco P’ship, 794 F.3d 341, 345 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 136 S. Ct. 596 (2015) that proceedings shall be stayed upon application even if all claims have been referred to arbitration.

• Fusco v. Plastic Surgery Center, P.A., No. 2:15-CV-460-DBH (D. Me. Mar. 4, 2016)

  03/04/2016

  Motion to compel arbitration granted; even though two of the parties may or may not be a party to the arbitration agreement as agents, in the interest of judicial economy, the claims against those two parties were stayed pending arbitration.

• Taylor v. Pilot Corp., 2:14-CV-02294-SHL-TMP (W.D. Tenn. Mar. 3, 2016)

  03/03/2016

  District court denied defendants’ motion on arbitration seeking to modify its previous order granting plaintiffs’ motion for conditional class certification.  Court held that, while defendants did not waive their right to compel arbitration as to those putative class members who signed arbitration agreements, the existence of signed arbitration agreements does not alter the potential class encompassed by the court’s original certification order.

• Guevara v. Seton Med. Ctr., No. 13-17457 (9th Cir. Mar. 3, 2016)

  03/03/2016

  Circuit court affirmed district court dismissal of action where, amongst other reasons, employee failed to exhaust binding arbitration grievance procedures set forth in her contractual bargaining agreement with her union.

• Superior Energy Services, LLC v. Cabinda Gulf Oil Company Limited, No. 4:13-CV-02056-PJH (9th Cir. Mar. 3, 2016)

  03/03/2016

  Denial of appellant's petition to compel arbitration reversed and remanded for entry of an order compelling arbitration; under California law the appellant was a proper third-party beneficiary permitted to enforce the arbitration agreement at issue.

• Vargas v. Delivery Outsourcing, LLC, No. 15-CV-03408-JST (N.D. Cal. Mar. 3, 2016)

  03/03/2016

  Motion to compel arbitration granted. FAA exemption for interstate transportation workers does not apply and arbitrability is for the court because, despite clear language delegating arbitrability, the issue is made ambiguous by other language in the agreement.

• ASARCO, LLC v. United Steel, No. CV-15-117-PHX-SMM (D. Ariz. Mar. 3, 2016)

  03/03/2016

  Motion to confirm arbitration award granted; plaintiff did not waive its argument that arbitrator lacked jurisdiction.

• Epic Diving & Marine Services LLC v. Ranger Offshore Inc., No. 4:16-CV-386 (S.D. Tex. Mar. 3, 2016)

  03/03/2016

  Request for preliminary injunction to freeze assets of the respondent pending the claimant's application to confirm an arbitration award granted; plaintiff directed to post a bond (or cash in lieu of the bond) before the order became effective.

• Taft v. Henley Enterprises, Inc., No. 8:15-CV-01658-JLS-JCG (C.D. Cal. Mar. 2, 2016)

  03/02/2016

  Court granted motion to compel arbitration of claims that did not fall under a particular statute and stayed proceedings.  Court held that the parties’ dispute was subject to a valid arbitration agreement, rejecting plaintiff’s contention that defendants were required to authenticate her signature as a threshold matter and finding that the agreement was sufficiently broad to cover plaintiff’s claims.  Court rejected arguments that the agreement was procedurally unconscionable because it was an employment contract of adhesion that had not attached the applicable arbitration rules or that it was substantively unconscionable because it permitted fee-shifting, precluded judicial review, required written notice of arbitration claims, and required arbitration of certain claims.  With respect to the last argument, Court held that to the extent such claims were required to be litigated by law, the provision was severable from the rest of the arbitration agreement and that any such claims would be stayed pending arbitration.

• Unión De Tronquistas De Puerto Rico, Local 901 v. United Parcel Service, Inc., No. 3:15–CV-01362 (D.P.R. March 2, 2016)

  03/02/2016

  Motion for summary judgment dismissing petition for review of arbitration award granted and arbitration award affirmed.  Although plaintiff cast the grounds for vacatur as manifest disregard of the law, court found that the complaint actually alleged factual and legal error by the arbitrator, which the court is not empowered to review.

• Nelson v. Watch House Int’l, L.L.C., No. 15-10531 (5th Cir. Mar. 2, 2016)

  03/02/2016

  District court’s grant of defendant’s motion to compel arbitration reversed and remanded. Appellate court held that under Texas law the defendant’s unilateral ability to terminate the arbitration agreement without advance notice to the plaintiff renders the arbitration agreement illusory and unenforceable.

• Apple Inc. v. BYD Co. Ltd., No. 15-CV-04985-RS (N.D.Cal. Mar. 2, 2016)

  03/02/2016

  Application to compel arbitration granted; an agency relationship existed between the non-signatory respondent and the signatory respondent and both were therefore bound by the arbitration agreement that encompassed the parties' dispute.

• Lutin Investments Ltd. v. Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, No. 12-CV-5191 (SAS) (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 2, 2016)

  03/02/2016

  Court had previously entered an order of dismissal following the parties’ settlement agreement concerning enforcement of French judgment of an arbitral award. Petitioner's subsequent motion to vacate order of dismissal, under FRCP Rule 60(b) on the basis that the settlement agreement was entered into without authority and under duress, was denied.

• Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co. v. Fryar, No. 1:15CV591 (M.D.N.C. Mar. 1, 2016)

  03/01/2016

  Motion to compel arbitration denied; the arbitration agreement clearly stated that disputes over the relevant issue were not to be arbitrated.

• Odeon Capital Grp., LLC v. Ackerman., No. 1:16-CV-00274-JSR (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 29, 2016)

  02/29/2016

  Court denied motion to remand.  Court held that diversity of citizenship is assessed on the date the motion to vacate is filed, not the date that the underlying arbitration commenced.  Since the parties were diverse on the date the motion was filed, federal jurisdiction existed.

• Merkin v. Vonage America, Inc., No. 14-55397 (9th Cir. Feb. 29, 2016)

  02/29/2016

  Order of the district court denying defendant-appellant’s motion to compel arbitration reversed and remanded with instructions to grant the motion. The FAA preempts state-law defenses and the defense relied upon by plaintiffs to resist arbitration is such a defense.

• GGNSC Louisville Hillcreek, LLC v. Watkins, No. 3:15-CV-902-DJH (W.D. Ky. Feb. 29, 2016)

  02/29/2016

  Motion to compel arbitration granted; a valid arbitration agreement exists and covers all claims asserted by defendant.

• Gragg v. ITT Technical Institute, No. 14-3315 (C.D. Ill. Feb. 29, 2016)

  02/29/2016

  Motion to dismiss or in the alternative to compel arbitration granted; plaintiffs must file for arbitration to pursue claims; all issues, including arbitrability, are within the scope of a valid arbitration agreement.

• CEEG (Shanghai) Solar Science and Technology Co. Ltd. v. Sunvalley Solar Inc., No. 2:15-CV-07339-PSG (C.D. Cal. Feb. 29, 2016)

  02/29/2016

  Judgment entered in favor of petitioner's motion to confirm arbitral award issued by Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission.

• Later Link Croup Co-Op, LLC v. Turley, No. 2:16-CV-01096-BRO-GJS (C.D. Cal. Feb. 26, 2016)

  02/26/2016

  Court denied plaintiff’s ex parte application for a temporary restraining order.  Court found an arbitration agreement, which exempted claims for injunctive relief, was not unconscionable and held the claim for injunctive relief was exempted from the parties’ agreement to arbitrate.

• Smalls v. Labor Ready Mid-Atlantic, Inc., No. 3:15-CV-293-RJC-DCK (W.D.N.C. Feb. 26, 2016)

  02/26/2016

  Magistrate judge recommended that a motion to compel arbitration be granted and a motion to dismiss be denied.  Magistrate judge found that when plaintiff applied for employment with Labor Ready, a subsidiary of TrueBlue, he agreed to arbitrate all claims arising out of or relating to his employment and the application for that employment.  Magistrate judge further held that the parent company could enforce the arbitration provision even if it was not a signatory to the agreement.

• Escobar v. Garden Fresh Rest. Corp., No. 8:15-CV-01825-JLS-KES (C.D. Cal. Feb. 26, 2016)

  02/26/2016

  Court denied motion to compel arbitration.  Court reasoned that even though Plaintiff had signed an arbitration agreement, he would be exempt from its application if he was a “transportation worker” under § 1 of the FAA, which excludes such persons from the FAA’s coverage.  Court held that a genuine question of fact existed on this point and should be decided by a jury.

• Mountain Valley Property, Inc. v. Applied Risk Services, Inc., No. 1:15-CV-187-DBH (D. Me. Feb. 25, 2016)

  02/25/2016

  Motion to compel arbitration granted and action stayed as to defendant as well as to two other defendants not included in arbitration. Even though state law prohibited arbitration of the type at issue, clear and unmistakable language delegating the issue meant arbitrability was for the arbitrator to decide.

• Lower Colorado River Authority v. Papalote Creek II, LLC, No. A-15-CA-656-SS (W.D. Tex. Feb. 24, 2016)

  02/24/2016

  Motion to compel arbitration granted; the parties agreed to arbitrate the dispute in question and there are no legal constraints external to the parties that foreclose arbitrating the dispute.
   

  See also Lower Colorado River Authority v. Papalote Creek II LLC, No. 115-CV-00656 (W.D. Tex. Apr. 22, 2016)
  Motion to stay arbitration pending appeal denied. Defendant did not show it was likely to succeed on the merits, ripeness is an issue for the arbitrator and a stay would only delay the resolution of that ripeness question.

• Bowles v. Receivables Performance, No. 1:15-CV-04991 (N.D. Ill. Feb. 24, 2016)

  02/24/2016

  Motion to compel arbitration granted. Issues in dispute are within contemplated scope of arbitration agreement, and although a non-signatory to the arbitration agreement defendant was acting as assignee and agent, which gave it standing to enforce arbitration agreement.

• ISMT, Ltd. v. Fremak Industries, Inc., No. 15–2086 (2d Cir. Feb. 24, 2016)

  02/24/2016

  Court affirms district court’s confirmation of arbitral award, finding that challenge of award does not meet burden to vacate award.

• Exec. Home Care Franchising LLC v. Marshall Health Corp., No. 15-1887 (3d Cir. Feb. 23, 2016)

  02/23/2016

  Circuit court affirmed district court’s ruling denying motion for a preliminary injunction where plaintiff had failed to establish it would suffer irreparable harm.  Circuit court held that the district court did not commit reversible error by continuing to deny a request for a preliminary injunction after the parties filed a claim with the AAA and all parties agreed to arbitrate all claims, even where defendants may have agreed that plaintiff would be entitled to the preliminary injunction if it established a substantial likelihood of breach or threatened breach of a franchise agreement.

• Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., Ltd. v. ConGlobal Industries, LLC, No. 3:15-CV-3576-G (N.D. Tex. Feb. 22, 2016)

  02/22/2016

  Motion to compel arbitration denied; the purported arbitration clause was a choice-of-law and forum selection clause.

• Crescendo Maritime Co. v. Bank of Communications Co. Ltd., No. 15 Civ. 4481 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 22, 2016)

  02/22/2016

  Petition to confirm three arbitral awards under the New York Convention granted. Dismissal on forum non conveniens not warranted, and while the presence of a defendant's property within a court's jurisdiction is generally insufficient to allow the court to hear claims against the defendant unrelated to that property, an exception applies where a petitioner seeks to recover on a judgment already adjudicated in a forum with personal jurisdiction over the respondent.

• TCMS Transparent Beauty, LLC v. Silvernail, No. A-15-CV-926 LY (W.D. Tex. Feb. 22, 2016)

  02/22/2016

  Motion to confirm arbitration award granted. Parties need not expressly consent to judicial confirmation of the award if the contract contains a provision stating that the award is final, binding, and non-appealable; cross-motion to vacate award held untimely, pursuant to the FAA a party must challenge an award within the three-months of it being issued.

• Cline v. Etsy, Inc., No. 2:15-CV-2115-JCM-VCF (D. Nev. Feb. 19, 2016)

  02/19/2016

  Magistrate judge recommended that defendant’s motion to compel arbitration be granted because Etsy’s Terms of Use, a “click-wrap” contract that plaintiff had agreed to, included a valid arbitration clause.  Magistrate judge noted that, despite termination of Etsy’s agreement with Cline, Etsy’s Terms of Use had a survival provision and therefore the arbitration and forum-selection clauses were still enforceable.  Finally, because Cline’s copyright infringement claims were within the scope of Etsy’s arbitration provision, plaintiff was bound to arbitrate her copyright infringement claims against Etsy.

• Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters v. Resnick, No. 1:15-CV-07614-EEB (N.D. Ill. Feb. 19, 2016)

  02/19/2016

  Court granted defendant’s motion to dismiss and denied plaintiff’s motion to dismiss.  Court held defendant was not the real party in interest in the dispute for Count I of the complaint as a claim intended to determine if an arbitral body has authority to proceed is in one in which the body has no real interest.  Court further held there was no reason to dismiss an injunctive claim against plaintiff at the pleading stage for failure to establish essential elements regarding whether the agreement requires binding arbitration and the dispute at issue is subject to it.

• Johnson v. NCL (Bahamas) Ltd. d/b/a Norwegian Cruise Line, No. 2:15-CV-04400-NJB-DEK (E.D. La. Feb. 19, 2016)

  02/19/2016

  Court granted motion to compel arbitration and stay proceedings and denied motion to remand.  Court held that the Jones Act claims at issue could be removed pursuant to the New York Convention, which applies to the arbitration clause in plaintiff’s employment agreement, and any argument that the arbitration clause may be void as a matter of public policy is premature.

• McMullen v. Synchrony Bank, No.  14-1983 (JEB) (D.D.C.., Feb. 19, 2016)

  02/19/2016

  Court denied motion to compel arbitration. Applying District of Columbia law, court held that defendant had not provided sufficient evidence to support a finding that there was a meeting of minds regarding an enforceable arbitration agreement.

• Masso-Torrellas v. Municipality of Toa Alta, No. 15-1522 (PAD) (D.P.R. Feb. 19, 2016)

  02/19/2016

  Motion to dismiss granted; although the agreement in question calls for mediation, it is arbitration in everything but name.

• Vican, Inc. v. Incipio Technologies, Inc., No. 3:15-CV-2720-L (N.D. Tex. Feb. 19, 2016)

  02/19/2016

  Magistrate judge’s report recommending that motion to compel arbitration be granted adopted by court, but court rejects magistrate’s finding that a stay is appropriate because the court may dismiss the action with prejudice when all claims are subject to arbitration.

• Rune v. Masimo Corp., Nos. 14-55556, 14-55725 (9th Cir. Feb. 19, 2016)

  02/19/2016

  District court’s order vacating arbitration award reversed; because the arbitrator did not fail to disclose information that creates a reasonable impression of bias, there was no evident partiality.

• Sierra v. Oakley Sales Corp., No. 8:13–CV-00319 (9th Cir. Feb. 18, 2016)

  02/18/2016

  District court order granting motion to compel arbitration reversed on the grounds that the FAA does not preempt a California rule that an employee’s right to bring a Private Attorney General Act action is non-waivable. Case remanded to district court to determine whether arbitration agreement at issue is enforceable.

• Jewelry Repair Enterprises, Inc. v. Son Le Enterprises, Inc., No. 9:15-CV-81622-Bloom/Valle (S.D. Fla. Feb. 18, 2016)

  02/18/2016

  Motion to compel arbitration denied; even though a valid arbitration agreement existed, the issues were not within the scope of the agreement.

• Dent v. Encana Oil & Gas Inc., No. 1:15-CV-01800-CMA (D. Colo. Feb. 17, 2016)

  02/17/2016

  Court granted in part and denied in part motion to compel arbitration.  Court found that the arbitration clause signed by the parties authorized the arbitrator to interpret the agreement and determine whether it permits plaintiff’s collective and class actions claims to proceed in arbitration. 

• Bayer CropScience v. Dow AgroSciences, No. 2:12-CV-47 (E.D. Va. Feb. 17, 2016)

  02/17/2016

  Motion to amend court's prior judgment rejected. The arbitration award underlying the judgment set forth the manner by which post award interest shall accrue, and the court would not substitute a statutory rate where the parties agreed to binding arbitration and the resultant award, including its determination on post award interest, was confirmed. 
   

  See also Bayer CropScience AG v. Dow AgroSciences LLC, No. 2:12-CV-47 (E.D. Va. Jan. 15, 2016)
  Plaintiff’s motion to confirm an ICC arbitration award granted and defendants' motion to vacate the arbitration award and stay the proceedings denied.  The court held the award must be confirmed absent extraordinary circumstances.

• InterDigital Comm., Inc. v. Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd., No. 15-CV-4485 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 17, 2016)

  02/17/2016

  Court stayed petition for an order confirming an ICC arbitration award rendered in Paris where annulment proceedings before the Paris Cour d'Appel were pending. Court found that little delay would result from awaiting a decision in the French annulment action and deferring a decision in this proceeding might avoid inconsistent results.