Ninth Circuit Dismisses Appeal of Denial of Motion to Compel Arbitration as Moot After the Complaint Was Amended While the Appeal Was Pending

The plaintiff's original complaint relied on a certain purchase agreement (PA) that included an arbitration clause. While the appeal was pending, the lower court permitted the plaintiff to amend the complaint to no longer rely on the PA for its claims. As a result, the plaintiff contended that the appeal was moot since there was no longer a basis to invoke the arbitration clause. The appellants, however, challenged the lower court’s ruling permitting an amendment to the pleading during the appeal, and further argued that the amended complaint still relied on the PA.

The Ninth Circuit held that a “plaintiff is master of the complaint and an appeal seeking review of collateral orders does not deprive the trial court of jurisdiction over other proceedings in the case.” (Citing Ninth Circuit precedent and noting that the U.S. Supreme Court has granted a petition for a writ of certiorari to resolve the split in the circuits on whether an appeal of the denial of a motion to compel arbitration “oust[s] a district court’s jurisdiction to proceed with litigation pending appeal” or instead, whether “the district court retain[s] discretion to proceed with litigation while the appeal is pending.”)

The Ninth Circuit then concluded that the amended complaint did not rely on the PA, and, in any event, the plaintiff stipulated that he had abandoned any claim under the PA. The court therefore dismissed the appeal as moot.

Matter of Giga Watt, Inc., Case No. 22-35104 (9th Cir. Dec. 23, 2022).