Tesla Motors, Inc. v. Cristina Balan

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

TESLA MOTORS, INC.; ELON No. 22-16623

MUSK,

D.C. No. 4:21-cv- Petitioners-Appellees, 09325-HSG

v.

OPINION

CRISTINA BALAN,

Respondent-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr., District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted December 5, 2024 San Francisco, California

Filed April 14, 2025

Before: Daniel P. Collins, Lawrence VanDyke, and Salvador Mendoza, Jr., Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge VanDyke TESLA MOTORS, INC. V. BALAN

SUMMARY *

Arbitration Award / Subject Matter Jurisdiction

Vacating the district court’s order granting Tesla, Inc. and Elon Musk’s petition to confirm an arbitration award, the panel held that the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to confirm the award pursuant to Badgerow v. Walters, 596 U.S. 1 (2022), which prohibits looking past the face of a petition under 9 U.S.C. § 9 to establish jurisdiction. The panel held that, because a “look through” approach is prohibited under Badgerow, the facts establishing jurisdiction must be present on the…