Before Certification of Class, Court Lacked Personal Jurisdiction Over Putative Class Members Who Signed Arbitration Agreement
Prospective lead plaintiff Nguyen filed putative class action complaint for alleged wage and hour violations against his former employer Inter-Coast International Training, Inc. Of the 220 individuals in the putative class, only 59 had signed an arbitration agreement – but Nguyen was not one of those who had signed an arbitration agreement. The employer moved unsuccessfully to compel arbitration, and appealed the order denying its motion to compel arbitration and stay the proceedings. Nguyen v. Inter-Coast International Training, Inc., Case No. B241938 (2nd Dist. Div. 4, Aug. 21, 2013) (Suzukawa, J., author 3:0) (unpublished).
The Court of Appeal affirmed the order denying the motion to compel arbitration and stay the proceedings. Why? The motion to compel arbitration and stay litigation was premature prior to certification of the class. The court lacked jurisdiction over the putative class members who had signed the arbitration agreement. After all, parties who had signed the arbitration agreement might be excluded from the certified class, or class certification might even be denied.
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