Worldwide Aircraft Services Inc., d/b/a Jet ICU v. Freedom Life Insurance Company of America

Summary

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida dismissed Jet ICU’s complaint without prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The court held that the No Surprises Act incorporates only the Federal Arbitration Act’s vacatur provisions under 9 U.S.C. § 10(a), not the confirmation provision under 9 U.S.C. § 9, and therefore does not provide a private cause of action to enforce or confirm an independent dispute resolution award. The defendant’s motion for summary judgment and the plaintiff’s motion to dismiss the counterclaim were denied as moot.

Holdings

1. The No Surprises Act does not create a private cause of action to enforce or confirm an IDR award under section 9 of the Federal Arbitration Act; it expressly incorporates only section 10(a) of the FAA for limited judicial review and therefore does not confer subject matter jurisdiction for confirmation or enforcement.
2. Because subject matter jurisdiction was absent, the court dismissed the complaint without prejudice and denied the defendant's summary-judgment motion and the plaintiff's motion to dismiss the counterclaim as moot.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the No Surprises Act creates a private cause of action or otherwise confers subject matter jurisdiction on a federal court to confirm or enforce an Independent Dispute Resolution award under section 9 of the Federal Arbitration Act.
2. Whether the pending summary-judgment and counterclaim-dismissal motions could be decided after the court determined that subject matter jurisdiction was lacking.

Disposition

dismissed