Smart Technologies ULC v. Rapt Touch Ireland Ltd.

ORDER DENYING APPLICATION FOR TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER; ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE WHY CASE SHOULD NOT BE DISMISSED

SMART’S application for a temporary restraining order is denied. A federal court’s issuance of emergency relief is a matter of discretion, and an injunction is “an extraordinary remedy that may only be awarded upon a clear showing that the plaintiff is entitled to such relief.” Winter v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 22 , 129 S.Ct. 365 , 172 L.Ed.2d 249 (2008); see id. at 24 , 129 S.Ct. 365 ; Standard Innovation Corp. v. Lelo (Shanghai) Tradi *1205 ng Co., No. 15-cv-04858-BLF, 2015 WL 6828317 , at *1 (N.D.Cal. Nov. 6, 2015). SMART has not shown an urgent need for a federal court to exercise its discretion to award interina relief.

The contract underlying this dispute contains an arbitration provision that the parties agree applies here. It’s true that, notwithstanding the arbitration provision, the contract allows the parties to seek emergency relief from a court in certain limited circumstances. But as SMART’S lawyer admitted at the hearing on the TRO application, the arbitration rules allow SMART to request emergency relief from an arbitrator as well.…