LONG v. Amway Corp.

Background

Keyu Long filed this action against Amway Corp. on April 11, 2017. Amway moved to compel arbitration under a provision in its contract with Long. On January 30, 2018, the court granted that motion and stayed the federal case while arbitration proceeded.

Arbitration Proceedings

Long served an arbitration demand in December 2018, and the American Arbitration Association opened a case file. The parties participated in the arbitration process, but the arbitration was suspended after Amway reported that Long had not satisfied her payment obligations under the American Arbitration Association’s commercial arbitration rules. The parties later confirmed that Long was behind on her arbitration bills.

The court told the parties that it would consider a motion to close the case if Long had not paid the arbitration fees. Amway reported that Long had not paid the fees by April 9, 2020, and that the arbitrator had dismissed the arbitration on April 22, 2020, under American Arbitration Association Commercial Rule 57. Amway initially asked the court to confirm the arbitrator’s ruling and dismiss the federal case with prejudice. Amway later clarified that the arbitrator’s dismissal was without prejudice and asked the court to dismiss the federal case without further briefing or motion practice. Long agreed that no further briefing was necessary and requested either a continued stay or dismissal without prejudice.

Ruling

Judge Katherine Polk Failla concluded that dismissal with prejudice would be inappropriate because the arbitrator’s dismissal was without prejudice. The court also found no reason to continue the stay because the arbitration had been dismissed and Long had not indicated that she would refile her claims in arbitration.

The court therefore dismissed this action without prejudice. It directed the clerk to terminate all pending motions, adjourn all remaining dates, and close the case. The order did not decide the underlying claims on their merits.