Toyo Tire Holdings of Americas, Inc. v. Continental Tire North America, Inc.

Toyo Tire Holdings of Americas, Inc. (Toyo) (plaintiff) had a partnership agreement with Continental Tire North America, Inc. (Continental) (defendant) and Yokohama Corporation of America (Yokohama) (defendant) to form a joint venture called GTY Tire Co. (GTY) (defendant). GTY manufactured truck and bus radial tires for distribution by Toyo, Continental, and Yokohama. The partnership agreement contained an arbitration clause that required all disputes arising from the contract to be settled by arbitration with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). The ICC rules that governed the arbitration clause permitted the parties to go to court to seek injunctive relief pending arbitration. After Continental and Yokohama notified Toyo that the partnership would be dissolved, a dispute arose involving the distribution of the partnership’s assets and the allocation of GTY’s tires. Toyo requested arbitration with the ICC and asked the ICC for interim injunctive relief to stop the dissolution and distribution of partnership assets until the ICC arbitrated the dispute. Toyo also filed suit and motioned the district court for a preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order against Continental, Yokohama, and GTY. The district court denied the motion on the grounds that the court was not permitted to grant temporary injunctive relief when the parties had agreed to arbitrate, and the arbitrator had the power to issue such relief. Toyo appealed.