Arbitration, FAA, Waiver: Ninth Circuit Holds In-State Trucker Delivering Goods That Once Crossed State Lines Is Exempt From Federal Arbitration Act

Delivery Truck Driver  Had To Arbitrate Anyway.

        Section 1 of the FAA exempts from the Act’s coverage all “contracts of employment of seamen, railroad employees, or any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce.” In Romero v. Watkins and Shepard Trucking,  No. 20-55768 (9th Cir.  8/19/21) (Fisher, Watford, Bumatay),  the court holds that Romero, an in-state delivery truck driver who delivered goods that had crossed state lines, was exempt from the coverage of the  FAA, and this exemption from coverage cannot be waived in a private contract. In a concurrent unpublished memorandum opinion, the court concludes that Romero was required to arbitrate under state law anyway.

        COMMENT: The §1 exemption is well-travelled legal ground for truckers. We've posted earlier about New Prime Inc. v. Oliveira, 139 S. Ct. 532 (2019), holding that the exemption for transportation workers engaged in interstate commerce applies to both employees and independent contractors. We also posted about Rittmann v. Amazon.com, Inc., 971 F.3d 904, 915 (9th Cir. 2020), cert. denied, 141 S. Ct. 1374 (2021), holding in-state delivery drivers engaged in the movement of goods interstate are covered by the §1 exemption.