Judge: Randall J. Sherman, Case: 2021-01192300, Date: 2022-09-16 Tentative Ruling

Defendant St. John Knits, Inc.’s Motion to Compel Arbitration and Dismiss Plaintiff’s Complaint is granted in part and denied in part.  The motion is granted in that plaintiff’s individual PAGA claims are ordered to arbitration.  The motion is denied in that plaintiff’s representative PAGA claims will not be dismissed, but will be stayed pending completion of the arbitration and pending the California Supreme Court’s decision in Adolph v. Uber Technologies, Inc., Case No. S274671.  The Status Conference set for December 15, 2022 is ordered off calendar.  A Post-Arbitration Review Hearing is set for March 16, 2023 at 9:00 a.m.  The parties must file a Joint Status Report at least a week before the hearing, and may request a continuance if arbitration is not yet complete.

The court concludes that there exists a valid agreement to arbitrate the individual PAGA claims asserted by plaintiff and that no grounds exist to bar enforcement of the agreement.  CCP §1281.2.  Plaintiff concedes that she signed the arbitration agreement.  The Federal Arbitration Act applies because defendant is engaged in interstate commerce, and the agreement provides that it is governed by the FAA.  Philadelphia Indemnity Ins. Co. v. SMG Holdings, Inc. (2019) 44 Cal. App. 5th 834, 840.  The Arbitration Agreement applies to plaintiff’s PAGA claims because they arise out of plaintiff’s employment and allege violations of the California Labor Code.

Although the lead opinion in Viking River Cruises concluded that a plaintiff lacks standing to bring non-individual PAGA claims, and that those claims should be dismissed, that conclusion is not controlling, and the California Supreme Court is set to decide that very issue in Adolph v. Uber Technologies, Inc.  The more prudent course is for this court to await that decision (although if defendant prevails at the arbitration, that issue presumably will be moot).

Defendant is ordered to give notice of the ruling unless notice is waived.