United States District Judge Dominic Lanza appeared to be frustrated or worse in directing the parties to arbitration in Quantum Fluids LLC v. Kleen Concepts LLC. As Judge Lanza describes the matter:
“This case, which arises from a seemingly straightforward business dispute between Plaintiff Quantum Fluids LLC (“Quantum”) and Defendant Kleen Concepts LLC (“Kleen”), has spawned a flurry of chaotic and procedurally irregular motions and litigation maneuvers.
“Last year, when the dispute first arose, the parties appeared to be addressing it in a
professional manner-their attorneys traded emails and discussed mediation. Things escalated, however, when Quantum sought a no-notice TRO against Kleen (even though the TRO request addressed one of the topics the parties were actively attempting to resolve informally). Separately, Kleen filed a motion to compel Quantum to arbitrate pursuant to the ADR clause in the parties’ contract. And before that motion became fully briefed, Kleen initiated a parallel arbitration proceeding against Quantum, prompting Quantum to file a motion to stay that proceeding. What a mess.“
Mess or not, the arbitrability analysis was straightforward, and Judge Lanza has sent the parties off to the American Arbitration Association.
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