REACH OUT AND SUE SOMEONE – STOLEN CELL PHONES SPUR ARBITRATION
Litigation was stayed pending concurrent arbitration in a dispute arising out of the theft of cell phones during international shipping. The complaint sought over $804,000 for the subrogated loss of approximately 15,000 cell phones. One of the defendants – companies involved in the phones’ shipping – moved to dismiss or, in the alternative, to stay on the basis of an arbitration clause between itself and the plaintiff’s subrogor. The court found that the litigation was intended to hold the defendants liable on the contract, which governed the parties’ relationship with respect to the transportation and delivery of cargo. Noting a strong bias in favor of international arbitration, the court found that the dispute should proceed through nonappealable arbitration in Peru. The court also denied another defendant’s motion to dismiss under the doctrine of forum non conveniens or, in the alternative, to transfer venue, holding that no factors “strongly” favored forcing the plaintiff to re-file elsewhere; there was no significant burden on the parties, nor were than any witnesses who would be inconvenienced. Rimac Internacional Cia. de Seguros y Reaseguros, S.A. v. Exel Global Logistics, Inc., Case No. 08-3915 (USDC S.D.N.Y. June 29, 2009).
This post written by Brian Perryman.
