Eletson Holdings Inc. v. Levona Holdings Ltd.
- Lewis Liman
- 1:23-cv-07331
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Eletson Holdings v. Levona Holdings, Judge Liman denied referral to bankruptcy court, finding this federal court was the proper forum for the arbitration-award proceeding.
Eletson Holdings, Inc., Eletson Corporation, and Levona Holdings Ltd.; the order determined that the district court, rather than the bankruptcy court, would handle the proceeding concerning the arbitration award.
What happened
Eletson Holdings, Inc. and Eletson Corporation asked the court to confirm an arbitration award against Levona Holdings Ltd. The proceeding involved a bankruptcy case concerning Eletson Holdings, Inc.
Levona asked the court to refer the arbitration proceeding to the bankruptcy court. The opinion states that Levona was not the debtor in that bankruptcy case, had not asserted a creditor claim there, and cited no authority for the referral. The court also noted that the petition fell under the New York Convention and the Federal Arbitration Act, giving the federal district court original jurisdiction.
Judge Lewis J. Liman denied Levona’s motion to refer the proceeding to the bankruptcy court and denied Levona’s statement of relatedness. The order did not decide whether to confirm or vacate the arbitration award.
The detailed version
- Eletson Holdings Inc. v. Levona Holdings Ltd. · No. 1:23-cv-07331
- Lewis Liman
- Oct. 10, 2023
Background
The petitioners sought to enforce or confirm an arbitration award against Levona Holdings Ltd. The opinion states that the petition was governed by the Convention on the Enforcement and Recognition of Foreign Arbitral Awards, commonly called the New York Convention, and the Federal Arbitration Act. The proceeding was related to a bankruptcy case identified as In re Eletson Holdings Inc., No. 23-bk-10322 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2023).
Referral Motion
Levona moved by letter brief for an order referring the proceeding to the bankruptcy court. The court noted that Levona was not the debtor in the referenced bankruptcy case and had not asserted a claim as a creditor there. Levona also did not argue that the proceeding was a core bankruptcy proceeding in which the bankruptcy court could enter a final judgment, and it cited no authority for referring the matter from the district court to the bankruptcy court.
Jurisdiction and Ruling
The court stated that proceedings governed by the New York Convention fall within the district court’s original jurisdiction under 9 U.S.C. § 203. It concluded that the district court was the proper forum to decide whether to confirm or vacate the arbitration award. The court denied Levona’s motion to refer the proceeding to the bankruptcy court. It also denied Levona’s Statement of Relatedness. The order did not decide whether the arbitration award should be confirmed or vacated.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.