SDNY Judge Denies Ex-Amazon Seller’s Motion to Remand Arbitration Petition
U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams for Southern New York in Manhattan denied the motion by former third-party Amazon seller Jiakeshu Technology to remand to state court its petition to vacate an arbitration award in Amazon’s favor (see 2212010065), said her…
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signed memorandum opinion and order Wednesday (docket 1:22-cv-10119). An arbitrator ruled last summer that Amazon could keep $50,000 in Jiakeshu sales proceeds seized after Amazon deactivated the third-party store for paying customers to submit fake positive reviews, in violation of its business service agreement. The court agrees with Amazon that the action falls under the New York Convention, and jurisdiction in the Southern District of New York is “therefore proper,” said Abrams’ order. The Federal Arbitration Act doesn’t “by itself provide a basis for subject matter jurisdiction in federal courts,” it said. Whether an award falls under the New York Convention and is therefore subject to federal jurisdiction is determined by Title 9 Section 202, it said. Jiakeshu argues the New York Convention doesn’t apply because there are no connections to a foreign legal framework, but in light of Jiakeshu’s status as a Hong Kong corporation “whose principal place of business is China,” the court disagrees, said the order. Consistent with Section 202, the 2nd Circuit said “arbitration agreements or awards fall under the New York Convention where one or more of the parties is a foreign citizen.” Abrams ordered the parties by July 5 to propose a briefing schedule on Jiakeshu’s petition to vacate "and any other next steps in this matter."