Plaintiff Syed Nazim Ali appealed a Northern District of California judgment dismissing Plaintiffs’ diversity action against FINRA alleging state law claims arising from an arbitration proceeding. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the District Court’s decision to dismiss Plaintiffs’ claims on the basis of arbitral immunity “because the claims alleged effectively seek to challenge the decisional acts of an arbitrator or an arbitration panel” contrary to California precedent.

The District Court had previously confirmed the FINRA arbitration award, as previously reported here.

Global Ebusiness Services, Inc. et al. v. FINRA, No. 18-15716 (USCA 9th Cir. Oct. 29, 2018)