Rohm Semiconductor USA, LLC v. MaxPower Semiconductor, Inc.
- Vince Chhabria
- 3:20-cv-06686
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Rohm Semiconductor USA v. MaxPower Semiconductor, Judge Chhabria granted arbitration and dismissed the case without prejudice.
Rohm Semiconductor USA, LLC and MaxPower Semiconductor, Inc.; the dispute was directed to arbitration, and the federal case was dismissed without prejudice.
What happened
In Rohm Semiconductor USA, LLC v. MaxPower Semiconductor, Inc., MaxPower asked the court to require arbitration of the dispute. The court concluded that a technology license agreement between MaxPower and Rohm Co. also bound Rohm Co.’s subsidiaries, including Rohm USA.
The agreement adopted California arbitration rules stating that the arbitrator could decide questions about the arbitration agreement and the arbitrator’s authority. The court said this language clearly assigned those questions to the arbitrator.
Judge Chhabria granted MaxPower’s motion to compel arbitration and dismissed the case without prejudice. The court also granted MaxPower’s related motion to seal.
The detailed version
- Rohm Semiconductor USA, LLC v. MaxPower Semiconductor, Inc. · No. 3:20-cv-06686
- Vince Chhabria
- Feb. 4, 2021
Background
MaxPower Semiconductor, Inc. moved to compel arbitration. The dispute involved a Technology License Agreement between MaxPower and Rohm Co. The court stated that the agreement bound Rohm Co.’s subsidiaries, including Rohm USA, identified in the caption as Rohm Semiconductor USA, LLC.
Reasoning
The agreement incorporated the California Code of Civil Procedure into its arbitration provision. The incorporated provision stated that the arbitral tribunal—the arbitration panel or arbitrator—could decide its own jurisdiction, including objections concerning whether the arbitration agreement existed or was valid. Relying on cited precedent, the court held that this language clearly and unmistakably assigned questions about whether the dispute was subject to arbitration to the arbitrator.
Disposition
The court granted MaxPower’s motion to compel arbitration and dismissed the case without prejudice. The court also granted MaxPower’s motion to seal, which had been filed with the motion to compel arbitration.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.