United States Fifth Circuit

In an action brought by a rice shipper against defendants arising from damages sustained by rice cargo, denial of defendants' motion to compel arbitration in New York is affirmed where: 1) the parties to instruments at issue unambiguously structured their relationship such that defendant-vessel owner was not a party to the voyage charter containing the arbitration clause; 2) the district court did not err in holding that the bill of lading did not bind the vessel owner to the voyage charter's mandatory arbitration clause; and 3) the circuit court rejects a claim that if a bill of lading contains any arbitration clause, the in rem vessel and the in personam representative of the vessel must be compelled to arbitrate.

Appellate Information

• Decided 04/02/2008
• Published 04/02/2008

Judges

• PATRICK E. HIGGINBOTHAM, Circuit Judge:, Before JOLLY, HIGGINBOTHAM and PRADO, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Fifth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• George Francis Chandler, III (argued), Christopher Earnest Klawinski, Hill, Rivkins & Hayden LLP, Houston, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Mark Cohen, Jeffrey James Putnam (argued), Christopher Michael Raney, Cohen, Gorman & Putnam, Houston, TX, for Defendants-Appellees.