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.

• In re: King Baby Marine LLC, No. 1:17-MC-00488-LAK (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 22, 2017)

  12/22/2017

  Court denied without prejudice petitioner’s ex parte application for discovery pursuant to 28 USC § 1782, finding that there was no current foreign proceeding to enforce the arbitration awards and that petitioner’s need for the requested discovery was only speculative.

• Brown v. David Stanley Chevrolet, Inc., No. 5:17-CV-00190-D (W.D. Okla. Dec. 22, 2017)

  12/22/2017

  Court declined to reconsider its Nov. 11, 2017 order compelling arbitration, holding that an evidentiary hearing was not required for its ruling and that the plaintiffs had not presented any previously unavailable evidence nor pointed to changes in controlling law.

• Gambrell v. Needham, No. 2:17-CV-02884-WB (E.D. Pa. Dec. 22, 2017)

  12/22/2017

  Court granted motion to compel arbitration and sua sponte stayed proceedings.  Court determined that the FAA applied to the parties’ agreement because it implicated interstate commerce and held that the defendant had not waived her right to compel arbitration by neglecting to make a corresponding motions in her initial filings seeking dismissal of the suit.  Court further ruled that the agreement covered the parties’ dispute.

• Santti v. Menard, Inc., No. 4:17-CV-01243-BYP (N.D. Ohio Dec. 21, 2017)

  12/21/2017

  Court agreed to stay proceedings pending resolution of a Supreme Court case evaluating whether labor agreements requiring waiver of class and collective action proceedings are enforceable under the FAA.

• Archer and White Sales, Inc. v. Henry Schein, Inc., No. 16-41674 (5th Cir. Dec. 21, 2017)

  12/21/2017

  Court of appeals affirmed district court’s ruling that it had authority to rule on question of arbitrability despite existence of agreement to arbitrate in accordance with the AAA rules, finding that (i) under the express terms of the arbitration agreement, the parties had not agreed to submit claims for injunctive relief to arbitration in accordance with the AAA rules; and (ii) even if the parties had agreed to submit questions of arbitrability to the arbitrator , a court need not do so where the assertion of arbitrability is wholly groundless.

• CVS Health Corporation v. Vividus, LLC, FKA HM Componding Services, LLC, No. 16-16187 (9th Cir. Dec. 21, 2017)

  12/21/2017

  Circuit court affirmed district court’s denial of a petition to enforce a subpoena issued pre-hearing by an arbitrational panel against a company that was not a party to the arbitration, finding that the FAA does not grant arbitrators the power to compel the production of documents from third parties outside of a hearing.

• Corchado v. Foulke Management Corp., No. 17-1433 (3d Cir. Dec. 21, 2017)

  12/21/2017

  Court of appeals affirmed the district court’s denial of appellant’s motion to compel arbitration, finding that appellees’ defense of fraudulent inducement to sign the arbitration agreement was sufficient grounds for the district court to deny the motion to compel arbitration.

• Health Professionals & Allied Employees AFT/AFL-CIO v. MHA, LLC, No. 2:17-CV-13301-JMV-MF (D.N.J. Dec. 21, 2017)

  12/21/2017

  Court granted motion for a temporary restraining order against the sale of assets.  Court reasoned that because the defendant had failed to satisfy a valid arbitration award, its disposition of certain assets could frustrate the arbitral process.  Court limited its restraint to such assets as were necessary to enforce the arbitral award.

• Skyline Restoration, Inc. v. First Baptist Church, No. 1:17-CV-01234 (N.D. Ill. Dec. 21, 2017)

  12/21/2017

  Court granted motion to compel arbitration, rejecting the plaintiff’s argument that the defendant had waived its right to arbitrate, finding that the plaintiff had yet to ask the Court to take any action in its favor.

• Integrity National Corporation, Inc. v. DSS Services, Inc., No. 8:17-CV-00160-PWG (D. Md. Dec. 19, 2017)

  12/19/2017

  Court granted motion confirming an arbitration award. Court held that because the plaintiff filed a timely motion to confirm, and the defendant did not timely file a motion to vacate the award, pursuant to §9 of the FAA the court must grant the motion.

• Peppers v. Credit One Bank N.A., No. 2:17-CV-02190-CSB-EIL (C.D. Ill. Dec. 18, 2017)

  12/18/2017

  Court denied defendant’s motion to dismiss and compel arbitration, finding the doctrine of estoppel did not apply in this case to bind a non-signatory to the arbitration agreement because the third party did not knowingly seek the benefits of the underlying contract containing an arbitration clause.

• Ray v. NPRTO Florida, LLC, No. 5:17-CV-00415-JSM-PRL (M.D. Fla. Dec. 18, 2017)

  12/18/2017

  Court denied motion to compel arbitration against non-signatory third party. Court reasoned that where the third party had accepted a benefit under an agreement but was not basing any claims on that agreement, that party could not be bound by its arbitration provisions.

• Sienkaniec v. Uber Technologies, Inc., No. 0:17-CV-4489-PJS-FLN (D. Minn. Dec. 18, 2017)

  12/18/2017

  Court granted motion to compel arbitration and stayed the action pending arbitrator’s decision.   Court held that the parties must arbitrate the question of whether the transportation-worker exemption of the FAA applied to the plaintiff because the contract contained a delegation clause requiring the parties to arbitrate issues of enforceability of the arbitration provisions, and the arbitration provisions were not unconscionable.

• Cunico Corporation v. Custom Alloy Corporation, No. 2:14-CV-01234-PA-AJW (C.D. Cal. Dec. 15, 2017)

  12/15/2017

  Court granted motion to compel arbitration, finding that a valid arbitration agreement governed the dispute. Court rejected plaintiff’s arguments as to contract formation and incorporation of Terms and Conditions. Court likewise rejected as unsubstantiated plaintiff’s arguments as to agreement invalidity as unconscionable.

• JTH Tax, Inc. v. Hines, No. 2:15-CV-00558-RBS-RJK (E.D. Va. Dec. 15, 2017)

  12/15/2017

  Court granted plaintiff’s motion to stay proceedings pending arbitration pursuant to §2 of the FAA and Virginia Law. Court enforced the arbitration clause even though defendant had alleged the contract was a product of fraud because defendant did not allege the same about the arbitration clause.

• Turner v. Fiserv Solutions, No. 4:16-CV-02158-HEA (W.D. Mo. Dec. 15, 2017)

  12/15/2017

  Court granted motion to compel arbitration and stay the action, holding that the dispute between the parties falls within the terms of the arbitration agreement at issue and that staying the action will ensure the timely arbitration of the dispute.

• Association of Equipment Manufacturers v. Burgum, No. 1:17-CV-00151-DLH-CSM (D.N.D. Dec. 14, 2017)

  12/14/2017

  Court granted motion for preliminary injunction enjoining North Dakota from enforcing state statute retroactively prohibiting arbitration clauses in certain contracts, finding inter alia that there was a probability of success on the merits as to petitioner’s argument that the statute was preempted by the FAA.

• Uretek, ICR Mid-Atlantic, Inc. v. Adams Robinson Enterprises, Inc., No. 3:16-CV-00004-GEC (W.D. Va. Dec. 14, 2017)

  12/14/2017

  Court granted motion to confirm arbitral award, finding that (i) arbitrators did not exceed their authority by looking beyond the four corners of the contract to interpret the contract; (ii) the arbitrators were at least arguably interpreting the contract; and (iii) implying obligations from the duty of good faith and fair dealing is not a manifest disregard of the law.

• Dye, Jr. v. Sexton, No. 1:16-CV-00035-LMM (N.D. Ga. Dec. 13, 2017)

  12/13/2017

  Court granted motion to compel arbitration, finding that a valid arbitration agreement existed between the parties and that under binding Eleventh Circuit precedent the court must send the matter to arbitration for the arbitrator to determine his or her own jurisdiction.

• Dylag v. West Las Vegas Surgery Center, LLC., No. 16-15869 (9th Cir. Dec. 13, 2017)

  12/13/2017

  Court of Appeals reversed an order of district court compelling arbitration as to one defendant, and affirmed the order compelling arbitration as to the other defendants. Court found that while joint defendants were co-employers of plaintiff, there was no contractual relationship, and thus no arbitration agreement, between employee and the one defendant.

• Alderman v. GC Services Limited Partnership, No. 2:16-CV-14508-RLR (S.D. Fla. Dec. 13, 2017)

  12/13/2017

  Court denied motion to dismiss claim or compel arbitration.  Court held that the plaintiff is not a signatory to the arbitration agreement at issue and, in the circumstances, equitable estoppel does permit the non-signatory to compel arbitration.

• Cargill Incorporated v. WDS Incorporated, No. 3:17-CV-00848-FDW-DSC (W.D.N.C. Dec. 13, 2017)

  12/13/2017

  Court denied motion to stay claim pending arbitration, holding the movant was not a party to the arbitration agreement relied on in support and, therefore, she did not sufficiently demonstrate she is entitled to enforce the arbitration provision before the court.

• Simply Wireless, Inc. v. T-Mobile US, Inc., No. 16-1123 (4th Cir. Dec. 13, 2017)

  12/13/2017

  Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s dismissal of Simply Wireless’s complaint in favor of arbitration but did so on alternate grounds.  As a matter of first impression, the court held that, in the context of a commercial contract between sophisticated parties, the incorporation of JAMS Arbitration Rules into the arbitration agreement serves as “clear and unmistakable” evidence of the parties’ intent to arbitrate questions of arbitrability.  

• La Force v. Gosmith, Inc., No. 1:17-CV-05101-YGR (N.D. Cal. Dec. 12, 2017)

  12/12/2017

  Court granted defendants motion to compel arbitration and stayed proceedings. Court rejected plaintiff’s argument that it had never entered into an agreement, finding that plaintiff used a website which provided a check box for indicating agreement to the terms of use including an arbitration provision. Court held that this was adequate to show plaintiff’s agreement to arbitrate.

• Carter v. Rent-A-Center, Inc., No. 16-15835 (9th Cir. Dec. 12, 2017)

  12/12/2017

  Court of appeals affirmed district court’s decision to compel arbitration, finding that a class action waiver in an arbitration agreement did not render the agreement unconscionable.

• Haasbroek v. Princess Cruise Lines Ltd., No. 1:17-CV-22370-KMM (S.D. Fla. Dec. 12, 2017)

  12/12/2017

  Court granted in part and denied in part defendants’ motion to compel arbitration and plaintiff’s motion for remand.  Court held that plaintiff’s rape, sexual assault and harassment claims fell within the arbitration clause of a Shipboard Employment Agreement (the “SEA’), governed under the laws of the Bahamas, and that defendants had timely removed to federal court those claims on the grounds that the matter was subject to arbitration pursuant to the New York Convention, thereby providing one defendant (and two others the plaintiff did not contest) the right to compel the plaintiff, a South African citizen, to arbitration.  The court remanded to state court for lack of subject matter jurisdiction certain claims for two remaining defendants who were non-signatories of the SEA and thus could not enforce the arbitration clause with respect to those claims.

• Ronco Consulting Corp. v. Leading Edge Ventures, LLC, No. 8:17-CV- 00305-PWG (D. Md. Dec. 12, 2017)

  12/12/2017

  Court granted defendant’s petition to confirm its arbitration award.  Court held that plaintiff failed to serve on defendant a timely notice of its application to vacate the award because the service procedures of Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure do not supplant those provided in 9 USC § 12 of the FAA governing service of a notice of a motion to vacate an arbitration award.

• Rodriguez-Depena v. Parts Authority, Inc., No. 16-3396 (2d Cir. Dec. 12, 2017)

  12/12/2017

  Court of appeals affirmed district court order.  Appellate court held that the plaintiff-appellant’s claims of individual rights conferred under a federal statute, the Fair Labor Standards Act, are arbitrable as there was no congressional intent to preclude a waiver of judicial remedies for those statutory rights.

• Roberts v. AT&T Mobility LLC, No. 16-16915 (9th Cir. Dec. 11, 2017)

  12/11/2017

  Court of appeals affirmed the district court’s order compelling arbitration of putative class action claims against defendant-appellee.   Court held that there was no state action, thereby rejecting plaintiffs’ argument on First Amendment grounds that the FAA policy encouraging arbitration renders defendant’s action attributable to the state. 

• National Dairy Association v. Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust Fund, No. 2:17-CV-00214-RSL (W.D. Wash. Dec. 11, 2017)

  12/11/2017

  Court denied plaintiffs’ motion to vacate or modify the interim arbitration award, and granted defendant’s motion for dispositive relief on jurisdictional grounds.  Court held it lacked jurisdiction to intervene in an arbitration proceeding that was not yet final under either the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act or the FAA.

• Hamed v. Fry’s Electronics, Inc., No. 4:17-CV-00675-ALM (E.D. Tex. Dec. 11, 2017)

  12/11/2017

  Court granted defendant’s motion to compel arbitration, holding the parties’ agreement was valid and enforceable and that the dispute fell within the scope of the arbitration clause.

• AMCI Holdings, Inc. v. CBF Industria De Gusa S/A., No. 17-481 (Dec. 11, 2017 U.S.)

  12/11/2017

  United States Supreme Court denied petitioners’ cert petition from a second circuit decision holding that the respondents, the award creditors, could enforce a foreign arbitral award under the New York Convention directly against a non-party award-debtor’s alter egos or successors in interest without first having the award confirmed and entered as a judgment prior to enforcement. 

• Application for an Order Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1782 to Conduct Discovery for Use in a Foreign Proceeding, No. 1:17-MC-01466 (D.D.C. Dec. 9, 2017)

  12/09/2017

  Court denied motion to reconsider prior decision denying petitioners’ request to issue a subpoena for discovery of a partner and law firm for use in the set-aside appeal of a $50 billion arbitral award.  Court held that none of the reasons proffered by the petitioners for reconsideration could overcome the court’s prior determination that that the law firm should not have to conduct a burdensome search given the limited, if any, relevance of the discovery sought to the foreign proceeding.  Shearman & Sterling LLP served as counsel for the petitioners.

• Evans v. North Pointe Assisted Living, No. 8:17-CV-00950-DCC (D.S.C. Dec. 8, 2017)

  12/08/2017

  Court declined to compel arbitration of a survival action, holding that an agreement to arbitrate was never concluded because the signatory lacked authority to bind the decedent and did not bind herself individually.  Court rejected arguments that equitable estoppel nevertheless bound the parties under state law.

• Evans v. North Pointe Assisted Living, No. 8:17-CV-00951-DCC (D.S.C. Dec. 8, 2017)

  12/08/2017

  Court declined to compel arbitration of a survival action, holding that an agreement to arbitrate was never concluded because the signatory lacked authority to bind the decedent and did not bind herself individually.  Court rejected arguments that equitable estoppel nevertheless bound the parties under state law.

• Ingenieria, Maquinaria Y Equipos de Colombia S.A. v. ATTS, Inc., No. 1:17-CV-03624-JBS-JS (D.N.J. Dec. 8, 2017)

  12/08/2017

  Court granted petitioner’s motion to confirm an arbitration award issued by the Center for Mediation and Arbitration of the Chamber of Commerce of Cali.  Court found that under Colombian or New Jersey law, which did not apply, the arbitration clause was valid, and that respondent waived its right to challenge the validity of the parties’ agreement when it chose not to appear at the arbitration proceedings.

• Agnesian Healthcare Inc. v. Cerner Corporation, No. 2:17-CV-01254-JPS (E.D. Wis. Dec. 8, 2017)

  12/08/2017

  Court granted defendant’s motion to dismiss complaint, but could not compel arbitration in another district. The arbitration agreement in question required a party to initiate any dispute in the state of the principal place of business of the non-petitioning party. As defendant was the non-petitioning party, arbitration would be proper in defendant’s home state of Missouri.

• Matthews v. Priority Energy Services, LLC, No. 6:15-CV-00448-PWS-KNM (E.D. Tex. Dec. 7, 2017)

  12/07/2017

  Court adopted magistrate judge’s recommendation and denied motion to vacate order compelling arbitration or, in the alternative, enforce the arbitration agreement as written.  Court rejected the defendants’ argument that the arbitration agreement – which they initially sought to compel – was invalid because it reflected no meeting of the minds by the parties as to cost allocations.  Instead, the court found that the applicable AAA rules empowered the arbitrator to make any necessary decisions as to costs.

• Richardson v. Coverall North America Inc., No. 1:17-CV-02405-TWT (N.D. Ga. Dec. 7, 2017)

  12/07/2017

  Court granted defendant’s motion to compel arbitration and dismiss or stay the action. Court held that the arbitration agreement contained a delegation clause and, as plaintiff made no direct challenges to that clause, all disputes concerning the validity of the agreement should be properly decided by the arbitrator.

• Hamlin v. Dollar Tree Stores, Inc., No. 2:17-CV-02648-PMD (D.S.C. Dec. 6, 2017)

  12/06/2017

  Court granted defendant’s motion to compel arbitration, stayed the action, and denied as moot defendant’s motion to dismiss.  Court found that the agreement was supported by adequate consideration under South Carolina state law, and was not unconscionable because the agreement selected JAMS rules which were not one-sided. Thus, court compelled arbitration pursuant to the FAA.

• Doscher v. Sea port Group Securities, LLC, No. 1:15-CV-00384-JMF  (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 6, 2017)

  12/06/2017

  Court denied motion to vacate or modify an arbitral award.  Court found arbitral tribunal was owed broad deference and that plaintiff did not meet burden of showing that the tribunal engaged in misconduct that denied him “fundamental fairness.” Thus, plaintiff failed to establish any of the limited grounds for vacating or modifying the award.

• Andrio v. Kennedy Rig Services, LLC, No. 4:17-CV-01194 (S.D. Tex. Dec. 6, 2017)

  12/06/2017

  Court denied defendant’s motion to compel arbitration.  Court found indemnity provision, allowing one party to recover fees regardless of the outcome, was unconscionable and not severable from the arbitration agreement, and therefore refused to enforce the arbitration agreement.

• Laborers’ International Union of North America v. MEK Enterprises, No. 3:17-CV-01614-BEN-NLS (S.D. Cal. Dec. 5, 2017)

  12/05/2017

  Court granted petition to confirm arbitration award, granting pre-judgment interest but denying attorney’s fees. Court stated that respondent bears burden of showing why award should not be confirmed and, since the respondent did not appear, the court confirmed the award.

• Clayborne v. Lithia Motors, Inc., No. 1:17-CV-00588-AWI-BAM (E.D. Cal. Dec. 5, 2017)

  12/05/2017

  Court granted motion to stay proceedings and to compel arbitration, holding that the clause delegating authority to determine “applicability, enforceability, or formation” of the arbitration agreement to arbitratosr was not unconscionable.

• Ewing v. Charter Communications Holding Company, LLC, No. 3:17-CV-00222-BEN-WVG (S.D. Cal. Dec. 5, 2017)

  12/05/2017

  Court granted defendant’s motion to compel arbitration and stay the action. Court found that the plaintiff’s request to opt out of the arbitration agreement was not timely and plaintiff was subject to a valid, irrevocable, and enforceable arbitration agreement.

• Sharp Corporation v. Hisense USA Corporation, No. 4:17-CV-03341-YGR (N.D. Cal. Dec. 5, 2017)

  12/05/2017

  Court granted defendant’s motion to compel arbitration and stay proceedings. Court found that the FAA preempted a state law precluding arbitration of a statutory claim without a clear waiver. Thus, the court held the dispute was within the scope of a valid and enforceable arbitration agreement.

• Meduri Farms, Inc. v. DutchTecSource BV, No. 3:17-CV-00906-SI (D. Or. Dec. 5, 2017)

  12/05/2017

  Court granted preliminary injunction, enjoining defendant from further pursuit of ICC arbitration, and denied defendant’s motion to refer the case to arbitration and stay proceedings. Court concluded that the operative agreement between the parties did not contain a mandatory arbitration clause.

• Love v. BMW Financial Services NA, LLC, No. 1:15-CV-00124-SMG (E.D.N.Y. Dec. 5, 2017)

  12/05/2017

  Court confirmed an arbitration award, granting pre-judgment interest and attorney’s fees. Court reasoned that none of plaintiff’s arguments provided a basis for the court to vacate the award, or to decline to affirm it.

• Greene v. Frost Brown Todd, LLC, Nos. 16-6761, 16-6763, 16-6772 (6th Cir. Dec. 4, 2017)

  12/04/2017

  Court of appeals affirmed the district court’s judgment in each of three cases.  Court affirmed the district court judgment in case No. 16-6772 granting summary judgment to the defendants on Greene’s complaint to vacate an arbitrator’s award.  Court held that Greene failed to present evidence to support vacating the arbitrator’s award on any ground permissible under the Railway Labor Act.

• Essex v. The Children’s Place, Inc., No. 2:15-CV-05621-JMV-MF (D.N.J. Dec. 4, 2017)

  12/04/2017

  Court granted defendant’s motion to compel arbitration for certain opt-in plaintiffs in a collective labor dispute. Pursuant to the FAA, the court held that the opt-in plaintiffs had entered a valid arbitration agreement and the present dispute fell within the scope of that agreement.