Jain v. De Méré

French inventor Henri Courier de Méré (defendant) held several patents for his inventions. Méré entered a marketing contract with Ishwar Jain (plaintiff) from India. The contract’s dispute-resolution provision required arbitration under French law. The forum of the arbitration was not specified. Jain helped Méré to negotiate a license agreement with Illinois company Motorola Lighting, Inc. (Motorola). Méré paid a portion of the royalties from Motorola to Jain. Jain sought additional Motorola payments from Méré, who refused to pay. Jain initiated arbitration in Illinois with the American Arbitration Association. Méré opposed the arbitration, arguing that France was the proper forum. Jain filed suit in federal district court in Illinois, requesting that Méré be compelled to arbitrate. The district court found that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) and the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (convention) granted it jurisdiction but that it could not compel arbitration if the parties failed to agree on a forum. Jain’s motion for reconsideration was denied, and Jain appealed. Jain argued that the FAA granted the district court authority to compel arbitration in Illinois. Méré argued that the FAA did not allow a court to compel arbitration if, as here, it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction.