Landau v. Eisenberg
Opinion
In June 2005, two groups from the Bobov Hasidic Jewish community in Brooklyn, New York, agreed to arbitrate certain disputes before a rabbinical tribunal. Petitioners-appellees asserted that "Bobov" was "a trademark within the meaning of section 45 of the Lanham Act ... because for decades, the word 'Bobov' has been used in commerce to distinguish the goods and services of the Bobov community." Central to the dispute was whether the respondents "had the right to use the name and mark BOBOV for its new Hasidic community." The arbitration agreement provided that a panel consisting of five rabbis would determine, among other things, who would have the right to be referred to as Bobov, and to publish and distribute books and merchandise under that name. The tribunal issued its decision in August 2014, ruling that petitioners owned the mark, were entitled to register it, and that any party could confirm the award in secular court. Petitioners sought confirmation of the arbitration award in district court under the Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA"),
*497 We hold that the district court properly "looked through" the arbitration petition to the underlying controversy to determine that it had subject matter jurisdiction, and that the district court did not err in confirming the arbitration award.
I. Subject Matter Jurisdiction
Eisenberg contests whether the district court properly exercised subject matter jurisdiction over this case. "[B]efore deciding any case we are required to assure ourselves that the case is properly within our subject matter jurisdiction."
United States v. Bond
,
The FAA is "something of an anomaly in the realm of federal legislation: It bestows no federal jurisdiction but rather requires for access to a federal forum an independent jurisdictional basis over the parties' dispute."
Vaden v. Discover Bank
,
We have not opined on whether federal subject matter jurisdiction exists over a motion to confirm an arbitration award under FAA § 9. But both the Supreme Court in
Vaden
and this Court in
Doscher
have provided guidance. In
Vaden
, the Supreme Court addressed whether federal subject matter jurisdiction existed over petitions to compel arbitration, pursuant to
Seven years later, in
Doscher
, we held that courts should apply
Vaden
's look-through approach to petitions to vacate and modify arbitration awards under
*498
These justifications apply with equal force to § 9, which contains "substantially identical language to § 10."
Applying the "look through" approach here, the district court properly determined that it had subject matter jurisdiction to confirm the arbitration award. The substantive controversy underlying the petition involved questions of federal trademark law, over which district courts unquestionably possess subject matter jurisdiction.
See
II. Confirmation of the Award
This Court reviews a district court's decision to confirm an arbitration award de novo on questions of law and for clear error on findings of fact.
Nat'l Football League Mgmt. Council v. Nat'l Football League Players Ass'n
,
Given this extremely deferential standard of review, the district court did not err in confirming the arbitration award as to the 613 respondents who had been served. The rabbinical tribunal assessed the parties' evidence and arguments over a nine-year period. The district court found no indication that the award was procured "through fraud or dishonesty, or that any other basis for overturning the award exists," and an independent review of the record provides no basis for questioning the award. The district court properly turned aside Eisenberg's non-jurisdictional *499 arguments, found the petition "effectively" unopposed and that no issue of material fact precluded confirmation, and did not err in confirming the award.
For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED .
On appeal, Eisenberg reiterates, in summary fashion, his venue and merits-based arguments. He does not, however, press any substantive arguments, such as explaining why the district court's rulings that venue was proper in district court, or that his merits-based arguments were time-barred, were incorrect. Accordingly, those arguments are waived.
See
LoSacco v. City of Middletown
,
Unless otherwise indicated, case quotations omit all internal quotation marks, alterations, footnotes, and citations.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Asher Baruch LANDAU, Et Al., Petitioners-Appellees, v. Baruch EISENBERG, Respondent-Appellant, v. Zvi Arye Rheinold, Et Al., Respondents-Appellees, Yakov Berger, Et Al., Respondents.
- Cited By
- 54 cases
- Status
- Published