Vallco Property Owner, LLC. v. American Arbitration Association, Inc.

I. BACKGROUND

25 Vallco is a Delaware limited liability company specializing in real estate investment that 26 has its principal place of business in Palo Alto, California. Compl. ¶¶ 1, 6. RVA is a New York- 27 based architecture firm. Id. ¶ 6. On May 4, 2015, Vallco and RVA entered into a design contract (the “Agreement”) for the Vallco Mall Redevelopment Project (the “Project”) at 10123 N Wolfe Road, in Cupertino, California. Id. ¶ 7. The multi-billion-dollar project was intended to reconstruct and redevelop the Vallco two-story shopping mall on a 50-acre parcel into a 7,000,000 square-feet mixed-use development structure that includes residential construction, retail and office space, as well as parkland, trails, and bike paths. Id. The parties’ Agreement is based on AIA Form document B101-2007 “Standard Form Agreement Between Owner and Architect.” Id. ¶ 12. It was executed in California and concerns the design and development of property in California. Id. ¶ 13. Section 8.3.1 of the Agreement provides that any disputes arising out of the Agreement were to be resolved by the AAA under the Construction Industry…