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Empire Asset Mgmt. Co. v. Best

Statute of Limitations Defense is Question of Law Committed to the Arbitrator

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OPINION & ORDER In April 2021, Respondent Joseph Best initiated arbitration proceedings against Petitioner Empire Asset Management Company, alleging fraud and fiduciary duty violations with respect to the handling of his brokerage account. Shortly thereafter, Empire filed a petition in New York State Supreme Court requesting (1) a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) staying the arbitration proceedings, and (2) dismissal of Best’s claims on statute of limitation grounds. The state court granted the TRO application and stayed the arbitration proceedings. On May 20, Best removed the state court action to federal court based on diversity jurisdiction. He now moves to dismiss this action pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, contending that, under the parties’ arbitration agreement, Empire’s statute of limitations defense must be decided by the arbitrator, and not this Court. For the reasons set forth below, the motion is GRANTED. BACKGROUND The following facts are drawn from the Complaint and assumed true for purposes of this motion.1 Respondent Joseph Best is a resident of Georgia who, in 2013, opened a brokerage account with Petitioner Empire Asset Management Company. (Compl.

2, 7, ECF 1-1.) Empire is a limited liability company that is based in New York. (Id. at 2.) Like many retail customers in the industry, when Best created his Empire brokerage account, he was required to sign a standard agreement which set forth the terms of his contractual relationship with Empire. (Id. at

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