Theis Research, Inc. v. Brown & Bain

MEMORANDUM **

Theis Research, Inc. (TRI) appeals the district court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of defendant Brown & Bain (B&B) on TRI’s claims of breach of professional and fiduciary duty, legal malpractice, fraud, and its application to vacate an arbitration award. The district court had jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332 ; this court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We affirm.

TRI was required to submit to the arbitrator the issue of whether B&B’s alleged conflicts of interest rendered the TRI— B&B legal services agreement void ab ini-tio. Three Valleys Mun. Water Dist. v. E.F. Hutton, 925 F.2d 1136 , 1140 (9th Cir.1991) (federal court may consider a defense of fraud in the inducement of a contract only if the fraud relates specifically to the arbitration clause itself and not to the contract generally). The issue was actually submitted to the arbitrator, who rendered a decision adverse to TRI. As such, the district court did not err when it determined that TRI was barred from re-litigating the same issue as part of its federal court malpractice claims. Ficek v. Southern Pacific Co., 338 F.2d 655, 657 (9th Cir.1964) (claimant may not voluntarily…