Ahmed v. Oak Management Corp.

Citations

• 348 Conn. 152

Syllabus

The plaintiff employee, A, sought to vacate, and the defendant employer, O Co., a venture capital firm, sought to confirm, an arbitration award of approximately $57 million in damages and fees that was made in connection with a dispute between the parties. The parties' employment agreement contained an arbitration clause that provided that arbitration would take place in Connecticut, be governed by Delaware law, and be administered under the Commercial Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures of the American Arbitration Association (AAA rules). After federal criminal charges were filed against A for insider trading that was unrelated to A's employment with O Co., O Co. investigated A's employment related transactions and uncovered certain fraudulent activities. O Co. subsequently terminated A's employment, seized the earnings of A that were in O Co.'s possession, and shared the results of its investigation with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC then brought a civil enforcement action against A, alleging that A had fraudulently misappropriated approximately $65 million from This appeal originally was argued before a panel consisting of Chief Justice Robinson, and Justices McDonald, D'Auria, Mullins, Ecker and Alex- ander. Thereafter, Judge Prescott was added to the panel. He has read the briefs and appendices, and listened to a recording of the oral argument prior to participating in this decision. 348 Conn. 152 OCTOBER, 2023 153 Ahmed v. Oak Management Corp. O Co. and its investors. Meanwhile, in violation of the conditions of his bail in the criminal insider trading case, A fled to his native country, India, where he was arrested and detained for having used invalid documents to enter the country. A federal court rendered judgment for the SEC in the civil enforcement action and ordered A to pay approximately $63 million in disgorgement and civil penalties, plus interest. Thereafter, O Co. filed an arbitration complaint against A, claiming brea