Reliable Energy Solutions v. Almalfi Apartment Corporation et al

Filing 23

OPINION AND ORDER COMPELLING ARBITRATION AND ABATING CASE, granting 6 Motion to Compel. This action is STAYED AND ABATED pending resolution of the arbitration..(Signed by Judge Melinda Harmon) Parties notified.(jdav, 4)

United States District Court
Southern District of Texas

ENTERED
August 08, 2017

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
HOUSTON DIVISION
§
§
Plaintiff,
§
§
vs.
§
§
AMALFI APARTMENT CORPORATION and§
TREMAR MANAGEMENT, LLC,
§
§
Defendants.
§

David J. Bradley, Clerk

RELIABLE ENERGY SOLUTIONS,

CIVIL ACTION H-16-3346

OPINION AND ORDER COMPELLING ARBITRATION
AND ABATING CASE
Pending before the Court in the above referenced cause,
removed from the 80th Judicial District Court of Harris County,
Texas on diversity jurisdiction, alleging breach of contract,
quantum

meruit,

and

unjust

enrichment,

is

Defendant

Tremar

Management, LLC’s (“Tremar’s”) motion to dismiss or, alternatively,
to

compel

arbitration

and

stay

action

pending

arbitration

(instrument #6), opposed by Defendant Amalfi Apartment Corporation,
and United States Magistrate Judge Frances Stacy’s memorandum and
recommendation (#21) that Tremar’s motion to compel arbitration be
granted and this action be stayed and abated pending, completion of
arbitration.

Reliable

is

not

opposed

to

arbitration.

No

objections have been filed to the Magistrate Judge’s memorandum and
recommendation.
Standard of Review

-1-

Nondispositive and dispositive motions may be referred to the
magistrate judge for a memorandum and recommendation under 28
U.S.C. section (b)(1) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 72.

Title 28 U.S.C. §

636(b)(1) provides,
(A) A judge may designate a magistrate judge to hear and
determine any pretrial matter pending before the court,
except a motion for injunctive relief, for judgment on
the pleadings, for summary judgment, to dismiss or quash
an indictment or information made by the defendant, to
suppress evidence in a criminal case, to dismiss or to
permit maintenance of a class action, to dismiss for
failure to state a claim upon which relief can be
granted, and to involuntarily dismiss an action. A judge
of the court may reconsider any pretrial matter under
this subparagraph (A) where it has been shown that the
magistrate judge’s order is clearly erroneous or contrary
to law.
(B) A judge may also designate a magistrate judge to
conduct hearings including evidentiary hearings, and to
submit to a judge of the court proposed findings of fact
and recommendations for the disposition, by a judge of
the court, of any motion excepted in subparagraph (A), of
applications for posttrial relief made by individuals
convicted of criminal offenses and of prisoner petitions
challenging conditions of confinement.
Findings to which no specific objections are made require the
Court only to decide whether the memorandum and recommendation is
clearly erroneous or contrary to law.

Id., citing U.S. v. Wilson,

864 F.2d 1219, 1221 (5th Cir. 1989).

Under this deferential

standard of review the court must affirm the magistrate judge’s
description unless it finds that based on all the evidence it is
“left with a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been
committed.”

Baylor Health Care Sys. v. Equitable Plan Services,

Inc., 955 F. Supp. 2d 678, 689 (N.D. Tex. 2013), quoting U.S. v.
-2-

Gypsum Co., 333 U.S. 364, 395 (1948).

The district court “may

accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or
recommendations made by the magistrate judge.”

28 U.S.C. §

636(b)(1)(C).
After a careful review of the record and the applicable law,
the Court finds the memorandum and recommendation is not clearly
erroneous or contrary to law, but instead concurs with Magistrate
Judge Stacy’s careful and thorough analysis and accordingly ADOPTS
her memorandum and order as its own.

Therefore the Court

ORDERS that Tremar’s motion to compel arbitration (#6) is
GRANTED

and

that

this

action

is

STAYED

and

ABATED,

pending

resolution of the arbitration.
SIGNED at Houston, Texas, this 7th day of August, 2017.

___________________________
MELINDA HARMON
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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