Jay-Z won a court battle on Wednesday requesting to put a halt on arbitration with clothing company, Iconix Brand Group Inc. Jay-Z requested the halt stating that there were not enough African-American arbitrators to hear his case.
In the petition filed in New York Supreme Court, the music mogul’s attorney Alex Spiro wrote,
“This blatant failure of the AAA to ensure a diverse slate of arbitrators for complex commercial cases is particularly shocking given the prevalence of mandatory arbitration provisions in commercial contracts across nearly all industries, which undoubtedly include minority owned and operated businesses.”
The Hollywood Reporter explains that Jay-Z and Iconix’s dispute stems back to, “a $200 million deal signed a decade back over the use of the “Roc Nation” trademark on baseball caps and other merchandise. The parties have been locked in public litigation, but in October, Iconix commenced new proceedings at the American Arbitration Association under a settlement agreement that predated the lawsuits.”
New York Supreme Court Justice Saliann Scarpulla ruled a temporary restraining order Wednesday, on the arbitration until the next court date of December 11.
