Fludd v. Nissan Motor Acceptance Company LLC

Background

Nissan Motor Acceptance Company LLC (NMAC) petitioned the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to confirm an arbitration award against Jovan Fludd. The award totaled $42,147.71 and arose from NMAC’s claim that Fludd failed to make monthly payments required by a retail installment sale contract for the purchase of a 2023 Nissan Sentra.

The opinion states that the arbitration was initiated by Fludd against NMAC. It also states that the arbitrator granted NMAC’s motion for summary disposition and entered a final award. The opinion contains conflicting dates: it identifies December 4, 2024, as the date of the arbitration award and also says that the final award adopting the summary disposition order was entered on May 20, 2024.

NMAC filed its petition on April 11, 2025, and served Fludd on April 17, 2025. Fludd filed a document stating that he did not consent to the proceedings and that no contract required him to participate. He attached a one-dollar check and claimed that accepting the check would settle and close the case.

Federal Arbitration Act standard

The Federal Arbitration Act provides a streamlined procedure for confirming arbitration awards. The court explained that it must confirm an award unless the opposing party establishes a legally recognized ground to vacate, modify, or correct it. The party opposing confirmation bears the burden of proof, and the showing required to prevent confirmation is very high.

Court’s analysis

The court found that Fludd had not established any ground for vacating, modifying, or correcting the award. It characterized the arguments in his filing as relying on “sovereign citizen” and debt-protestor theories. The court stated that Fludd had made the same argument in arbitration, where it was rejected, and that federal courts had found similar arguments frivolous.

The court therefore concluded that Fludd had not rebutted NMAC’s presumptive entitlement to confirmation of the final award.

Ruling and disposition

Judge Colleen McMahon granted the petition to confirm the final arbitration award. The court directed that judgment be entered based on the award, together with $4,145.00 in attorneys’ fees and $405.00 in costs. Post-judgment interest is to accrue at the statutory rate.

The court also directed the Clerk to terminate the motion at Docket No. 7, strike a letter that had been erroneously docketed as an open motion, docket Fludd’s response and check as Docket No. 9, and docket the decision as Docket No. 10.