Court Of Appeal Reverses Order Denying Motion To Compel Arbitration Of Class Claim.
In an employment dispute, the trial court denied plaintiff' Garner's ability to pursue class action claims in arbitration, relying on "language in the arbitration agreement stating that Garner waived his right to participate in class action lawsuits." Chris Garner v. Inter-State Oil Company, C088374 (3rd Dist. 7/23/20) (Mauro, Robie, Duarte). Garner appealed.
One clause in the arbitration expressly provided for arbitration of class actions, i.e., "any and all claims arising out of or related to your employment that could be filed ina a court of law, including . . . class action . . . shall be submitted to final and binding arbitration . . ."
Therefore, respondent Inter-State Oil Company argued a second clause -- the one relied on by the trial court -- resulted in a waiver of the right to arbitrate a class action, because it provided that the employee "waived his right to 'participation in a civil class action lawsuit . . .'"
The Court of Appeal harmonized the two provisions in favor of the employee, pointing out the obvious: "Lawsuits generally refer to court actions." Therefore, the parties had agreed that the employee could arbitrate class actions, and also agreed that the employee could not litigate class action lawsuits in court.
The Court of Appeal concluded that both the employee's individual and class claims required arbitration.
Comments