Reported / Citable
Background
Timothy Leroy Fortune sued Hasa, Inc. in the Eastern District of Texas. The matter was referred to a magistrate judge under 28 U.S.C. § 636.
The magistrate judge recommended granting Hasa’s motion to compel arbitration and denying Fortune’s motion for a jury trial. Fortune objected to that recommendation.
The Court’s Holding
After conducting de novo review of Fortune’s objections, Judge Amos L. Mazzant concluded that the magistrate judge’s findings and conclusions were correct. The court overruled the objections and adopted the report and recommendation.
The court granted Hasa’s motion to compel arbitration, denied Fortune’s motion for a jury trial, and stayed the case pending arbitration. The parties must notify the court of the arbitration’s outcome within seven days after it is completed.
Key Takeaways
- The court compelled the parties to arbitrate the dispute.
- The court denied the plaintiff’s request for a jury trial.
- The federal action is stayed, rather than dismissed, while arbitration proceeds.
Why It Matters
The order moves the parties’ dispute out of federal court and into arbitration while preserving the case on the court’s docket. Any further judicial proceedings will await the outcome of arbitration.