Shubin v. Slate Digital Inc.

OPINION & ORDER Plaintiff Yury Shubin (“Shubin”) brought claims against Slate Digital, Inc. (“Slate”), Michael Horton (“Horton”), William L. Brooke (“Brooke”), and Eric Stark (“Stark”) (together, “defendants”) in the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, claiming that defendants had acted unlawfully in stripping him of his vested shares after he was terminated from Slate. His suit charged, inter alia, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, and a violation of the New York Labor Law §193. Shubin then moved for injunctive relief. While that motion was pending, defendants timely removed the case to federal court on the basis of diversity jurisdiction. Defendants now move to compel arbitration of Shubin’s claims. They also seek fees and costs associated with moving to compel and opposing injunctive relief. For the following reasons, the Court grants the motion to compel arbitration, denies Shubin injunctive relief, denies the request to award fees and costs, and stays the case pending the completion of arbitration. I. Background¹ A. The Parties Shubin is a co-founder and shareholder of Slate. He resides in Sofia, Bulgaria. Compl. 2. Slate, a social media content creation platform, is a Delaware company, with its principal place of business in New York. Id.

1, 7. Horton is a co-founder and chief executive officer of Slate. Id. 3. Brooke is a co-founder and shareholder. Id. 4. Stark is a co-founder and chief operating officer. Id. 5. Horton and Brooke are New York residents; Stark is an Oregon resident. Id.