SPRINGTIME COFFEE COMPANY, INC. v. ARAMARK REFRESHMENT SERVICES, LLC

Filing 19

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER dismissing without prejudice 10 Motion to Dismiss; and IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the parties shall appear before the Honorable Joel Schneider as directed by the Court. Signed by Judge Renee Marie Bumb on 2/10/16. (js)

[Dkt. No. 10]
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
CAMDEN VICINAGE

SPRINGTIME COFFEE CO.,
Plaintiff,

Civil No. 14-5435
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

v.
ARAMARK REFRESHMENT SERVICES,
LLC,
Defendant.

THIS MATTER comes before the Court upon the filing by
Plaintiff Springtime Coffee Co. (“Springtime”) of a Complaint
alleging claims of breach of contract and breach of the duty of
good faith and fair dealing removed to this Court by Defendant
Aramark Refreshment Services (“Aramark”) on August 29, 2014.
[Dkt. No. 1.]

On October 3, 2014, Aramark moved to dismiss the

Complaint, arguing—in essence—that all of Plaintiff’s purported
breaches were decided pursuant to an arbitration clause
contained within the Asset Purchase Agreement at the core of
this litigation.

[Dkt. No. 10.]

The Court stayed the motion

pending settlement negotiations between the parties.

The matter

has not settled, and the motion is ripe for this Court’s
consideration.
Upon review of the papers, it is clear that the parties
dispute the validity of an accounting remedy that is best
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described as an arbitration award.

Plaintiff seeks to challenge

that award by alleging a breach of contract.
however, this is not proper.

Procedurally,

The Federal Arbitration Act, 9

U.S.C. §§ 9-11, provides the exclusive grounds for vacating,
modifying, or correcting an arbitration award.

Hall Street

Associates, LLC v. Mattel, Inc., 552 U.S. 576, 582 (2008).

See

also Plastic Recovery Techs., Co. v. Samson, 2011 WL 3205305, at
*2 (N.D. Ill. July 28, 2011) (“When a party seeks to vacate an
arbitration award, the party should not file a ‘complaint’ or
any other filing conceived by the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure . . . .

[T]he party challenging the award should file

a motion to vacate the arbitration award and provide the court
with all matters it would like the court to consider in support
of the motion to vacate.”); Nistad v. Wealth and Tax Advisory
Servs., Inc., 2010 WL 4226527, at *4 (D.N.J. Oct. 21, 2010) (“It
is apparent that [the plaintiff] is not satisfied with . . . the
arbitrator’s decision . . . .

[The plaintiff] cannot challenge

the . . . arbitration award on the same basis through this new
action whether sounding in breach of contract, negligence or
fraud.”).

Indeed, albeit with reservations, Springtime

acknowledges the appropriateness of filing a motion to vacate
the arbitration award.

(Pl.’s Br. at 11 n.1 (“To the extent

that the Court determines that Springtime must proceed under the
standard to vacate an arbitration award, which Springtime
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disputes, Springtime respectfully requests permission to amend
its pleadings to provide additional facts [supporting] an
argument for vacating the purported award.”).)
Similarly, Aramark seeks to confirm the award by filing a
motion to dismiss the Complaint under Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 12(b)(6).

This is procedurally improper.

Associates LLC, supra at 582.

Hall Street

Aramark’s motion is also

problematic because it asks this Court to look at matters beyond
the pleadings or documents attached or integral to the
Complaint.

Gould Electronics, Inc. v. United States, 220 F.3d

169, 176 (3d Cir. 2000).
Accordingly, the Court will order the parties to appear
before Magistrate Judge Schneider on a date and time to be set
by Judge Schneider, at which time the Court shall (1) set a
schedule for proper briefing and (2) discuss what discovery the
parties need and/or are entitled to before the filing of their
motions.
Accordingly,
IT IS ON THIS 10th day of February 2016, ORDERED that the
Motion to Dismiss [Docket No. 10] is dismissed without prejudice
as improperly filed; and

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the parties shall appear before
the Honorable Joel Schneider as directed by the Court.

s/Renée Marie Bumb
RENEE MARIE BUMB
United States District Judge

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