PECK, J.
The plaintiff, Brenda Ungerland, filed the two count complaint in this action on
On July 23, 2009, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The motion is accompanied by a memorandum of law and a supporting affidavit by the defendants' counsel. The defendants attached the following documents related to the NASD arbitration between the parties to their counsel's affidavit: Ungerland's statement of claim, Ungerland's uniform submission agreement and the arbitration award. Ungerland filed an objection to the motion to dismiss on October 19, 2009. The objection is accompanied by a supporting affidavit by Ungerland's counsel, dated October 19, 2009, to which Ungerland attached a FINRA press release, dated September 27, 2007, announcing Morgan Stanley's settlement with FINRA regarding the regulatory charges, and a notice of settlement, dated March 20, 2009, received by Ungerland as a result of the settlement. She filed a memorandum of law in opposition to the motion to dismiss on November 10, 2009. The memorandum is accompanied by a second affidavit by her counsel, dated November 9, 2009, to which Ungerland again attached the items appended to the previous affidavit as well a FINRA press release, dated November 17, 2007, announcing the Morgan Stanley settlement to its members, and Morgan Stanley's letter of acceptance, waiver and consent to FINRA.
"A motion to dismiss ... properly attacks the jurisdiction of the court, essentially asserting that the plaintiff cannot as a matter of law and fact state a cause of action that should be heard by the court.... A motion to dismiss tests, inter alia, whether, on the face of the record, the court is without jurisdiction." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Caruso v. Bridgeport, 285 Conn. 618, 627, 941 A.2d 266 (2008). "The motion to dismiss shall be used to assert . .. lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter...." Practice Book§ 10-31(a).
"Jurisdiction over the person, jurisdiction over the subject-matter, and jurisdiction to render the particular judgment
"[T]he plaintiff bears the burden of proving subject matter jurisdiction, whenever and however raised." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Fort Trumbull Conservancy, LLC v. New London, 265 Conn. 423, 430 n. 12, 829 A.2d 801 (2003). "[I]n determining whether a court has subject matter jurisdiction, every presumption favoring jurisdiction should be indulged." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Connor v. Statewide Grievance Committee, 260 Conn. 435, 443, 797 A.2d 1081 (2002). "The motion to dismiss ... admits all facts which are well pleaded, invokes the existing record and must be decided upon that alone.... Where, however... the motion is accompanied by supporting affidavits containing undisputed facts, the court may look to their content for determination of the jurisdictional issue and need not conclusively presume the validity of the allegations of the complaint." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Ferreira v. Pringle, 255 Conn. 330, 346-47, 766 A.2d 400 (2001).
The defendants argue that their motion to dismiss should be granted because the court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the action because it is an improper collateral attack on a prior arbitration award between the parties. Ungerland argues in opposition that the complaint is not an improper collateral attack on a prior arbitration award, and instead, alleges separate and independent claims from the underlying arbitration.
"Arbitration agreements are contracts and their meaning is to be determined... under accepted rules of [state] contract law.... Judicial construction of an arbitration agreement, however, is not guided solely by the principles of relevant state contract law. The [Federal] [Arbitration [A]ct; 9 U.S.C. §§ 1 through 16; governs written arbitration agreements that pertain to contracts involving interstate commerce.... The arbitration act creates a body of federal substantive law of arbitrability, applicable to any arbitration agreement within the coverage of the [a]ct.... As federal substantive law ... the arbitration act is to be applied by state courts as well as by federal courts.... The purpose of the arbitration act is to ensure that private agreements to arbitrate are enforced according to their terms.... The arbitration act establishes a strong federal policy favoring arbitration.... [W]hen Congress passed the [arbitration [a]ct in 1925 ... [i]t intended courts to enforce [arbitration] agreements into which parties had entered .. . and to place such agreements upon the same footing as other contracts...." (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Hottle v. BDO Seidman, LLP, 268 Conn. 694, 702-703, 846 A.2d 862 (2004). "Section 1 of the [Federal Arbitration Act] defines `commerce' to include `commerce among the several States....' 9 U.S.C. § 1. The United States Supreme Court has construed § 1 broadly. The court has explained that `involving commerce' is the equivalent of `affecting commerce,' and accordingly,
The parties do not make it abundantly clear whether the substantive law of Connecticut's arbitration statutes, General Statutes § 52-408 et seq., or the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq. (2008), applies to this case as necessary to resolve the motion before the court. Neither the plaintiff nor the defendants submit any contract, arbitration agreement or any other evidence indicating whether the arbitration at issue was conducted under Connecticut law, federal law or the law of another jurisdiction. If the original contract between the parties involved only intrastate commerce conducted in Connecticut, then the substantive law of the Connecticut arbitration statutes applies as necessary. See Hottle v. BDO Seidman, LLP, supra, 268 Conn. at 702-703, 846 A.2d 862. But if the original contract involved interstate commerce, then the substantive law of the Federal Arbitration Act applies, no matter that this case is in state court. See id. Although the defendants' arguments are plainly based on the premise that the Federal Arbitration Act applies here, they note only once, in a footnote in their memorandum in support of their motion to dismiss, that the arbitration at issue in this case arose out of a contract involving interstate commerce. Since the plaintiff argues that this cause of action is independent of the prior arbitration award, she makes no mention of the nature of the contract from which the arbitration arose or which jurisdiction's substantive law of arbitration applies. Nevertheless, she has not disputed the defendants' contention that the arbitration at issue arose from a contract involving interstate commerce.
While the Federal Arbitration Act has been held to supersede state substantive arbitration law when applied to written arbitration agreements that pertain to contracts involving interstate commerce, "[t]he arbitration act has not been held to supersede state procedural laws." Hottle v. EDO Seidman, LLP, supra, 268 Conn. at 698 n. 5, 846 A.2d 862. Therefore, when a cause of action related to an arbitration is heard in a Connecticut court, Connecticut procedural arbitration laws, as found in § 52-408 et seq., are normally applied. See id.; Sultar v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., Superior Court, judicial district of New Britain, Docket No. CV-04-0527411, 2004 WL 2595840 (October 13, 2004) (Cohn, J.) (38 Conn. L. Rptr. 108, 109) ("The [Federal Arbitration Act] covers both substantive law and a procedure for federal courts to follow where a party to arbitration seeks to enforce or vacate an arbitration award in federal court. The procedural aspects are confined to federal cases." [Internal quotation marks omitted.]). The exception to the use of Connecticut procedural arbitration laws by a Connecticut court is when the parties have agreed, whether in an arbitration agreement or at trial, to abide by the law of a particular state. Merrill Lynch & Co. v. Waterbury, 34 Conn.App. 11, 15-16, 640 A.2d 122 (1994) ("while the [Federal Arbitration Act] preempts the application of state [substantive] laws that render arbitration agreements unenforceable, it does not preempt the application of state [procedural] law in a case where the parties have chosen in their arbitration agreement to abide by the law of a particular state." At trial, the parties proceeded under the procedural laws of Connecticut, although their contract provided that it was to be governed by the laws of New York). In the present case, neither party has argued that the parties contractually agreed to abide by the law of a particular jurisdiction.
General Statutes § 52-418(a) provides in relevant part: "Upon the application of any party to an arbitration, the [S]uperior [C]ourt ... shall make an order vacating the award if it finds any of the following defects; (1) If the award has been procured by corruption, fraud or undue means; (2) if there has been evident partiality or corruption on the part of any arbitrator; (3) if the arbitrators have been guilty of misconduct in refusing to postpone the hearing upon sufficient cause shown or in refusing to hear evidence pertinent and material to the controversy or of any other action by which the rights of any party have been prejudiced; or (4) if the arbitrators have exceeded their powers or so imperfectly executed them that a mutual, final and definite award upon the subject matter submitted was not made."
General Statutes § 52-419(a) provides for an order modifying or correcting an
The time in which to vacate, modify or correct an arbitration agreement is limited by General Statutes § 52-420, which provides in relevant part: "(b) No motion to vacate, modify or correct an award may be made after thirty days from the notice of the award to the party to the arbitration who makes the motion."
According to federal substantive law, "the [F]ederal Arbitration Act provides the exclusive remedy for challenging acts that taint an arbitration award...." Corey v. New York Stock Exchange, 691 F.2d 1205, 1211-12 (6th Cir. 1982); accord Foster v. Turley, 808 F.2d 38, 41-42 (10th Cir.1986); see Ibarzabal v. Morgan Stanley DW, Inc., 333 Fed.Appx. 605, 606 (2d Cir.2009); Tamari v. Bache & Co. (Lebanon) S.A.L., 565 F.2d 1194, 1202 (7th Cir.1977), cert. denied, 435 U.S. 905, 98 S.Ct. 1450, 55 L.Ed.2d 495 (1978). "[I]t is a well-settled proposition that judicial review of an arbitration award should be, and is, very narrowly limited.... A federal court may vacate or modify an arbitration award only if one of the grounds specified in 9 U.S.C. §§ 10 & 11 is found to exist." (Citations omitted.) Diapulse Corp. of America v. Carba, Ltd., 626 F.2d 1108, 1110 (2d Cir. 1980); see Barbier v. Shearson Lehman Hutton, Inc., 948 F.2d 117, 120 (2d Cir.1991); Hartford Lloyd's Ins. Co. v. Teachworth, 898 F.2d 1058, 1061 (5th Cir.1990). "When ... a suit is in substance no more than a collateral attack on the award itself, it is governed by the provisions of the [Federal Arbitration Act]." Foster v. Turley, supra, at 42.
Corey v. New York Stock Exchange, supra, 691 F.2d at 1211, is the leading case on whether a complaint that is based on conduct related to a prior arbitration alleges separate and independent claims or constitutes an impermissible collateral attack on a prior arbitration award. In Corey, the plaintiff sought punitive damages from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), alleging that its assistant arbitration director deprived him of a fair hearing because the assistant arbitration director selected members of the arbitration panel in violation of NYSE rules and adjourned and rescheduled hearings over the plaintiff's objection. The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that the plaintiff's allegations of wrongdoing were within the scope of 9 U.S.C. § 10 and constituted a collateral attack against the arbitration award. Id., at 1211-12. The court said: "Corey was not harmed by the selection of the arbitrators and the adjournments of the hearings in and of themselves.... Rather, he was harmed by the impact these acts had on the award. Corey's complaint has no purpose other than to challenge the very wrongs affecting the award for which review is provided under [§] 10 of the [Federal Arbitration Act].... Very simply, Corey did not avail himself of
The Sixth Circuit ruled on this issue more recently in Decker v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., 205 F.3d 906 (6th Cir.2000). In that case, the plaintiff participated in an NASD arbitration hearing and received an arbitration award. Id., at 907. Thereafter, the plaintiff filed a complaint, claiming that the defendant, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith, Inc. (Merrill Lynch), improperly interfered with the arbitration when a subsidiary of Merrill Lynch hired the chairperson of the arbitration panel to act as a closing agent for various unrelated real estate transactions. Id. Commenting on the nature of the complaint, the court stated: "Decker does not challenge the validity of her contract to arbitrate with Merrill Lynch. Nor does she seek to vacate, modify, or correct the arbitration award. Instead, Decker makes several claims under contract and tort law that she argues constitute an independent action." Id., at 909.
In affirming the United States District Court's granting of Merrill Lynch's motion to dismiss, the Sixth Circuit held: "Like the plaintiff in Corey, Decker's alleged prejudice did not result when the Merrill Lynch subsidiary hired the chairperson of the arbitration panel to perform legal services, but instead resulted from the impact of this action on the arbitration award. Her ultimate objective in this damages suit is to rectify the alleged harm she suffered by receiving a smaller arbitration award than she would have received in the absence of the chairperson's relationship with Merrill Lynch. In order to pursue this objective, Decker should have filed a motion to vacate the arbitration award under the [Federal Arbitration Act] by claiming that `the award was procured by corruption, fraud, or undue means' .... 9 U.S.C. § 10(a)(1)-(2).... Because Decker chose to attack collaterally the arbitration award in violation of the [Federal Arbitration Act], she fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted." (Citation omitted.) Id., at 910. In response to a public policy argument by the plaintiff that the court's decision would encourage fraud and deceit in the arbitration process, the court responded: "[I]n light of the strong federal policy in favor of enforcing arbitration agreements, courts only have a limited role in reviewing arbitration awards as authorized under the [Federal Arbitration Act].... Decker did not follow the proper procedure for challenging her arbitration award under the [Federal Arbitration Act]...." (Citation omitted.) Id., at 910-11.
In the present case, Ungerland alleges that the defendants: (1) falsely claimed that certain records were destroyed on September 11, 2001; (2) destroyed documents evidencing false and fraudulent representations made to the plaintiff; and (3) destroyed the evidence with the intent of depriving Ungerland and other individuals engaged in arbitration with the defendants the evidence necessary to prove their arbitration claims. As
The reasoning of the Sixth Circuit in both Decker and Corey, is persuasive in this case. As in both of those cases, Ungerland did not seek to vacate, modify or correct the arbitration award under the Federal Arbitration Act in federal court and did not seek to do the same in this court under the Connecticut statutes analogous to the Federal Arbitration Act, § 52-408 et seq. See Decker v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., supra, 205 F.3d at 909; Corey v. New York Stock Exchange, supra, 691 F.2d at 1212-13. Rather, she has filed a complaint containing allegations that she argues constitute a separate and independent action from the arbitration. See Decker v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., supra, at 909; Corey v. New York Stock Exchange, supra, at 1213. However, although she attempts to distinguish her complaint from Decker and Corey, it is impossible to separate out the impact of Morgan Stanley's misconduct on the arbitration award. See Decker v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., supra, at 910. It appears then, as was the case in Decker and Corey, Ungerland's ultimate objective is actually to rectify the alleged harm she suffered in receiving a smaller arbitration award than she would have received in the absence of Morgan Stanley's alleged misconduct during the arbitration proceeding.
Decker and Corey are not the only federal circuit court cases supporting the court's conclusion. See Ibarzabal v. Morgan Stanley DW, Inc., supra, 333 Fed. Appx. at 606 (claims barred by Federal Arbitration Act); Gulf Petro Trading Co. v. Nigerian National Petroleum Corp.,
Further, two federal District Court opinions provide particularly persuasive support for concluding that the present action is an impermissible collateral attack on an arbitration award. In both cases, the courts dismissed complaints based on the same alleged arbitration misconduct by Morgan Stanley as alleged by Ungerland herein. See Ibarzabal v. Morgan Stanley DW, Inc., United States District Court, Docket No. 07 CIV 2273(SCR) (S.D.N.Y. December 5, 2007) ("[t]he injuries alleged by [the plaintiffs] are predicated on the impact of [Morgan Stanley's] alleged conduct on the outcomes of their arbitration proceedings; accordingly, this [c]ourt must view the instant action as an attempt ... to collaterally attack those awards") aff'd, 333 Fed.Appx. 605 (2d Cir. 2009); Quintana v. Morgan Stanley DW, Inc., United States District Court, Docket No. 05-21401-CIV (S.D.Fla. December 7, 2005) ("[b]ecause the essence of the [c]omplaint is that [the defendant's] failure to disclose the as yet identified documents during their arbitration resulted in an unfair outcome ... [the plaintiffs'] [c]omplaint does not state claims independent of an attack on their individual arbitration proceedings").
As clearly stated in §§ 52-419 and 52-420, under Connecticut law, if a party to an arbitration wishes to attack the arbitration award on grounds of fraud, it must do so within thirty days of receiving notice of the award. See Wu v. Chang, 264 Conn. 307, 313, 823 A.2d 1197 (2003). In Wu v. Chang, supra, at 309, 823 A.2d 1197, the plaintiffs filed with the Superior Court an application to confirm an arbitration award pursuant to § 52-117. Thereafter, the court held a hearing during which the defendant objected to the confirmation, claimed that he had discovered evidence indicating that one of the plaintiffs had defrauded him, and requested an opportunity to present evidence in support of this claim of fraud. Id. The court treated the defendant's objection as a motion to vacate the award under § 52-420; id., at 309-10, 823 A.2d 1197; rejected the request to present evidence and denied the motion to vacate, "conclud[ing] that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the motion inasmuch as the motion was not made within the thirty day limitation period set forth in § 52420(b)." Id., at 310, 823 A.2d 1197. The defendant appealed. Id.
In interpreting §§ 52-117, 52-118 and 52-420, the Supreme Court initially said: "Section 52-420(b) requires that a motion to vacate an arbitration award be filed within thirty days of the notice of the award to the moving party. If the motion is not filed within the thirty day time limit, the trial court does not have subject matter jurisdiction over the motion.... Because it is uncontested that [the defendant] did not move or otherwise file an application to vacate the arbitration award within the thirty day limitation period of § 52-420(b), the trial court granted the timely filed application of [the plaintiffs] to confirm the award." (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., at 312, 823 A.2d 1197.
Wu controls arbitrations that are governed by Connecticut procedural law. Ungerland's action is based on claims of fraud by the defendants during the underlying arbitration. The statement of the arbitration award, as attached to the affidavit of the defendants' counsel, shows that the statement was signed by the arbitrators on August 6, 2003. The notice to the plaintiff of FINRA's settlement with Morgan Stanley (referenced, supra, in footnote 1 of this opinion) was dated March 20, 2009. This action was filed on June 12, 2009. Ungerland argues that by virtue of the March 20, 2009 notice of settlement, the NASD arbitration award at issue in this case was in effect reopened by FINRA, as consented to by Morgan Stanley. She further argues that, pursuant to the terms of the settlement, because she was under no compulsion to participate in the limited settlement proposed, she is not precluded from pursuing other remedies seeking punishment of Morgan Stanley for the failure to produce pre-September 11, 2001 e-mail or other updates to Morgan Stanley's "Manager's Policies and Procedures Manual" subject of arbitration discovery.
In support of the foregoing position, the plaintiff relies on three documents submitted as exhibits to her opposition memorandum. First, she cites FINRA's November 15, 2007 press release, titled "Notices to Members, Disciplinary Actions," in support of her argument. (See exhibit 2 to plaintiff's opposition memorandum.) The release reports on the settlement between FINRA and Morgan Stanley of the formal regulatory charges against Morgan Stanley originally filed by NASD in December, 2006.
Second, Ungerland cites Morgan Stanley's letter of acceptance, waiver and consent, number 2005001449202, signed by a Morgan Stanley representative on September 19, 2007, and accepted by FINRA on September 24, 2007. (See exhibit 3 to plaintiffs opposition memorandum.) As in the press release, there is no mention, even by implication, that, pursuant to the settlement, the arbitration awards were reopened.
Third, Ungerland relies on the "notice of settlement" she received, dated March 20, 2009, in support of her claim that she was not required to participate in the FINRA and Morgan Stanley settlement to justify bringing her present complaint. As previously addressed in this memorandum,
In sum, Ungerland has offered no persuasive argument to convince this court to agree with her position that the 2003 NASD arbitration was reopened by virtue of FINRA's settlement with Morgan Stanley pursuant to the notice sent to investors in March, 2009. As discussed in this memorandum, the case law interpreting the Federal Arbitration Act and the analogous Connecticut statutes, as described above, mandate this court to find otherwise.
In a final argument, Ungerland compares her case to Mian v. Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corp., 7 F.3d 1085 (2d Cir.1993). In that case, the plaintiff filed an action, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1981, in United States District Court against the defendants for discriminating against him because of his race during the course of an arbitration proceeding pertaining to the handling of his securities accounts by the defendants. Id., at 1086. On appeal, the court held that "[t]he procedures established by 9 U.S.C. §§ 10 and 12 are normally the exclusive remedy to challenge the results of an arbitration proceeding.... However, Mian's failure to move to vacate the arbitration award within the time prescribed by 9 U.S.C. § 12 does not prevent him from seeking to recover damages for alleged civil rights violations that occurred during the arbitration proceeding itself." (Citation omitted.) Id., at 1086-87. It further stated, "[t]he fact that a major component of the damages sought would consist of the amount of the arbitration award ... does not mean that Mian's suit is one to challenge the award within the meaning of § 10 of the Federal Arbitration Act." Id., at 1087.
Although Mian created an exception to the general rule that the Federal Arbitration Act is the exclusive remedy to challenge the results of an arbitration proceeding, the exception is a limited one. Ibarzabal v. Morgan Stanley DW, Inc., supra, 333 Fed.Appx. at 606. In Ibarzabal
In dismissing the Ibarzabal appellants' argument for application of an exception under Mian, the District Court noted that Mian "hinged on the specific nature of 42 U.S.C. § 1981 ... which ... `prohibits discrimination that infects the legal process in ways that prevent one from enforcing contract rights, by reason of his or her race, and ... covers wholly private efforts to impede access to the courts or obstruct nonjudicial methods of adjudicating disputes.'... The plaintiffs do not assert any claims under [§] 1981, or any analog to it, and we have been given no reason to expand Mian's narrow exception to apply to the claims brought here." (Citation omitted.) Id., at 606. The Second Circuit's reasoning is compelling. Herein, Ungerland has not asserted any claims under § 1981, of any other federal or state statute that might be an analog to it. See id. Therefore, Mian has no effect on the present case.
For all the foregoing reasons, the court finds that the only procedural mechanism available to the plaintiff was to file a motion to vacate the arbitration award within the time allowed by § 52-418(a)(1), and, therefore, the claims set forth in her complaint constitute an impermissible collateral attack on the arbitration award. "[O]nce the thirty day limitation period of § 52-420(b) has passed, the award may not thereafter be attacked on any of the grounds specified in ... § 52-418 ... including fraud." (Citation omitted.) Wu v. Chang, supra, 264 Conn, at 313, 823 A.2d 1197.
For the reasons set forth in this memorandum of decision, the defendants' motion to dismiss is hereby granted for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.