The appellant disputed the manner in which the arbitrators were selected under the applicable arbitration agreement, as well as the partiality of the arbitrators. The district court refused to stay the arbitration, ruling that it lacked jurisdiction to address these issues before the panel renders a decision. The Fifth Circuit affirmed on this ground, but also noted that the appellant could not show a “lapse” in the selection of arbitrators or another significant breakdown in the arbitration process. The court characterized the appellant’s argument as an attempt to “rewrite” the arbitration agreement “to require that every arbitration among [the] multiple parties comprise only two ‘sides.’” The “plain wording of that provision,” however, showed that three or more “sides” were contemplated. Avic Int’l USA, Inc. v. Tang Energy Group, Ltd., Case No. 15-10190 (5th Cir. Aug. 25, 2015).
This post written by Joshua S. Wirth.
See our disclaimer.