Kelley Drye Secures $2.5 Million Arbitration Award for Tex-Isle Supply Inc.

Kelley Drye’s representation of Tex-Isle Supply Inc. in a high-stakes post-arbitration challenge was recently highlighted in an article by Law360.

The dispute arose from pipes Tex-Isle purchased from Italian manufacturer Tecnotubi SPA through a third-party broker, Toyota Tsusho America Inc. Tex-Isle alleged the pipes were defective and moved for arbitration in New York under the terms of the Toyota purchase order. Tecnotubi argued its own contract required arbitration in Geneva, Switzerland.

A New York-based arbitration tribunal sided with Tex-Isle on both jurisdiction and the merits, awarding the company $2,234,796 in damages and interest, plus $257,382 in costs. Tecnotubi then petitioned the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to vacate the award, claiming the tribunal wrongly assumed jurisdiction.

On August 1, 2025, U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick confirmed the award, rejecting Tecnotubi’s arguments as an improper attempt to relitigate issues that had been properly submitted to the arbitrator. The court found the tribunal’s fact findings provided more than the ​“barely colorable justification” required to sustain its decision and that Tecnotubi had not shown any grounds for vacatur.

Partners Levi Downing and Jennifer Caplan Barks of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP represented Tex-Isle in both the arbitration and the federal court confirmation proceedings, securing a complete victory for the client.

Read the full article by Law360.