Eleventh Circuit Acknowledges Role for State Arbitration Laws
By Outsourcing Justice, December 1, 2017
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The Eleventh Circuit recently issued an opinion dealing with vacatur of an arbitration award. Original Appalachian Artworks, Inc. v. Jakks Pacific, Inc., No. 17-11513 (11th Cir. Nov. 17, 2017) (click here for a copy of the decision). The case involved the owner of the Cabbage Patch brand of toys and a licensee who was authorized to manufacture and distribute the toys for a limited time period on an exclusive basis. A few months before this exclusive license expired, the owner began negotiating with other potential licensees, so that a new license could be in place when the first license expired. The first licensee challenged these negotiations with other companies as a breach of contract. However, an arbitrator issued an award finding that the negotiations were proper, and there was no breach of the original license.
