Wimbledon Financing Master Fund, Ltd. v. Molner
Opinion
Opinion
MEMORANDUM
In their Second Amended Complaint, Wimbledon Financing Master Fund Limited and Stillwater Market Neutral Fund III SPC (collectively “Plaintiffs”) alleged claims for (1) breach of fiduciary duty, (2) breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and (3) fraud. Defendants Aramid Entertainment Fund, Screen Capital International Corporation, Aramid Capital Partners, and David Molner (collectively “Defendants”) filed a motion to compel arbitration of those claims. The district court denied Defendants’ motion. Reviewing de novo, Bushley v. Credit Suisse First Boston, 360 F.3d 1149, 1152 (9th Cir.2004), we affirm.
The parties agree the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards ( 9 U.S.C. §§ 201-208 ) controls the agreement at issue. Although an agreement in writing may obligate the parties to the agreement to arbitrate their claims, see Balen v. Holland Am. Line Inc., 583 F.3d 647, 654 (9th Cir.2009), Plaintiffs are not signatories to the agreement.
Defendants have not alleged a contract or agency theory to bind Plaintiffs to the terms of an arbitration agreement they did not sign. See id. at 655 ; Letizia v. Prudential Bache Secs.,…