Wang v. Skype Communications S.a.r.l

Background

Hao Zhe Wang, proceeding without a lawyer, filed a complaint alleging claims that had previously been litigated in an arbitration proceeding. The arbitrator issued an award on July 13, 2021, denying all of Wang’s claims. Wang filed a motion to vacate the award on October 11, 2021. The defendants later filed a pre-motion letter concerning a motion to confirm the award, opposition to Wang’s request to vacate, and, alternatively, dismissal based on claim preclusion, also called res judicata.

The court construed the complaint as a motion to vacate the arbitration award. It noted that federal law requires a party seeking to vacate, modify, or correct an arbitration award to serve notice of that motion within three months after the award is delivered. The court stated that this deadline is an absolute bar and does not have an exception for people representing themselves.

Analysis

The award was issued on July 13, 2021, making October 13, 2021 the end of the three-month period. Wang served the complaint on November 15, 2021, after that deadline, and did not otherwise serve the motion to vacate. The court therefore held that it could not hear Wang’s request to vacate the award. The court also stated that, even if the complaint were not treated as a motion to vacate, the claims would be barred by res judicata because the prior arbitration involved a decision on the merits, involved Wang, and concerned claims that were or could have been raised in that proceeding.

The defendants’ motion to confirm the award was granted. The court explained that confirmation makes an arbitration award a judgment of the court and generally must be granted unless the award is properly vacated, modified, or corrected. Because the deadline to seek vacatur had passed and Wang had not identified a legal issue preventing confirmation, his arguments for vacatur could not block confirmation.

Disposition

The court ordered that Wang’s motion to vacate the arbitrator’s award was DENIED and that the defendants’ motion to confirm the arbitrator’s award was GRANTED. The court canceled all conferences and directed the clerk to close the motion at Docket Number 5 and close the case. The court separately ordered that, if the defendants wanted to seal materials referenced in Wang’s request at Docket Number 7, they had to submit a letter supporting sealing under the applicable standard by January 10, 2022.