Amgen, Inc. v. Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp.

Case Date: 03/02/1999
Court: 1st District Appellate
Docket No: 1-98-3287

Amgen, Inc. v. Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp., No. 1-98-3287

1st District, MARCH 2, 1999

SECOND DIVISION

AMGEN, INC.,

Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.

ORTHO PHARMACEUTICAL CORPORATION, a Delaware Corporation, and ORTHO BIOTECH, INC., a New Jersey Corporation,

Defendants-Appellants

(Endispute, Inc., a Delaware Corporation; Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, Inc., a Delaware Corporation; and The American Arbitration Association, a New York Corporation,

Defendants).

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APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY

No. 95-CH-10399

THE HONORABLE AARON JAFFE, JUDGE PRESIDING

JUSTICE COUSINS delivered the opinion of the court:

This is an appeal from an order of the circuit court granting summary judgment in favor of plaintiff, Amgen, Inc. (Amgen), and ordering arbitration of Amgen's claim for termination of the parties' product licensing agreement (PLA) before Endispute, Inc. (Endispute). On appeal, defendants, Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp. and Ortho Biotech, Inc. (collectively, Ortho), contend that the circuit court erred: (1) by deferring to the Endispute arbitrator the jurisdictional question of who should arbitrate Amgen's termination claim; and (2) by requiring the parties to arbitrate the termination claim before the Endispute arbitrator where: (a) the arbitration clause found in the PLA expressly required that "any dispute" concerning the PLA must be arbitrated before a "panel of three (3) arbitrators" under the auspices of the American Arbitration Association (AAA); (b) there is no agreement between the parties to replace the AAA with Endispute for arbitrating all disputes concerning the PLA or to arbitrate the termination claim before Endispute; and (c) facts found by the Endispute arbitrator establish that Amgen's termination claim is outside the scope of Endispute's limited jurisdiction.

BACKGROUND

The relevant facts are as follows: plaintiff Amgen is a corporation that is organized under the laws of the State of Delaware and based in the State of California. It is engaged in manufacturing and marketing biopharmaceutical products licensed by the United Stated Food and Drug Administration and similar regulatory bodies for sale and use in the United States and throughout the world. Among other products, Amgen developed, manufactures, and sells in the United States a genetically engineered form of human erythropoietin, called Epoetin alfa (EPO), under the brand name "Epogen