Anderson v. Waffle House, Inc.

920 F. Supp. 2d 685, 117 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 537, 2013 WL 352348, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11630, 96 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 44,740
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Louisiana
DecidedJanuary 29, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. 12-2282
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 920 F. Supp. 2d 685 (Anderson v. Waffle House, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Anderson v. Waffle House, Inc., 920 F. Supp. 2d 685, 117 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 537, 2013 WL 352348, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11630, 96 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 44,740 (E.D. La. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER AND REASONS

CARL J. BARBIER, District Judge.

Before the Court is Defendant, Waffle House Inc. (“Waffle House”)’s Motion to Dismiss or Stay the Proceedings and Compel Arbitration. (Rec. Doc. 19) Plaintiff, Charmaine Anderson, has opposed the motion. (Rec. Doc. 23) Waffle House has replied. (Rec. Doc. 32) The motion was set for hearing on the briefs on Wednes[687]*687day, January 2, 2013.1 In its motion, Waffle House seeks an order dismissing Plaintiffs claims or staying the litigation and compelling Plaintiff to arbitrate the claims asserted in this litigation. Having considered the motion, the parties’ submissions, the record, and the applicable law, the Court finds, for reasons expressed more fully below, that the Defendant’s motion should be GRANTED.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY AND BACKGROUND FACTS

On September 14, 2012, Plaintiff filed the instant lawsuit against her supervisor, Donald Ballard, and her employer, Waffle House, arising out of Ballard’s alleged sexual harassment of Plaintiff while she was employed as a waitress at a Waffle House in Slidell. (Rec. Doc. 1) Plaintiff asserted claims for sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. (“Title VII”) and Louisiana state law, La. R.S. 23:301 et seq., as well as claims for sexual assault and threats of bodily harm under Louisiana law. (Rec. Doc. 1, 1). Although it is unclear when Anderson began her initial employment with Waffle House,2 the parties agree that Anderson separated from and returned to work at Waffle House as a waitress multiple times between the date of her initial hire and her ultimate termination in March of 2012. (Rec. Doc. 19-1, p. 2; Rec. Doc. 23, p. 2-3) On September 29, 2009, Anderson entered into an Arbitration Agreement with Waffle House, which was signed by Waffle House through its Vice President. (Arbitration Agmt., Rec. Doc. 32-1) The Arbitration Agreement states in pertinent part:

Waffle House (as defined below) and I hereby agree:
2. Claims covered by this Agreement. That Waffle House and I will resolve by arbitration all claims and controversies (“claims”), past, present, or future, whether or not arising out of my employment or termination from employment, that I may have against Waffle House or against its officers, directors, employees or agents in their capacity as such or otherwise, or that Waffle House may have against me. The claims that are arbitrable:
• are those that, in the absence of this Agreement, would have been heard in a court of competent jurisdiction under applicable state or federal law; and
• ...
include, but are not limited to, claims for wages or other compensation due under the Fair Labor Standards Act or state law equivalent; claims for workers’ compensation benefits arising from an injury or illness occurring when my principal place of employment is within the state of Texas; claims for breach of any contract or covenant whether express or implied; tort claims; claims for discrimination or harassment, including but not limited to, race, color, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, religion, national origin, age, marital status, military status or affiliation, or medical condition, handicap or disability, whether under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act [688]*688of 196k, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as amended, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, or any other federal, state or local statutes; claims for retaliation arising from or concerned with such laws or statutes; claims arising from or concerned with various stock ownership plans, stock option plans, or stock option bonus plans offered by Waffle House; claims for benefits, except claims under an employee benefit plan that either specifies that its claims procedure shall culminate in an arbitration procedure different than this one or is underwritten by a commercial insurance carrier which decides claims; claims for violation of any federal, state or other governmental law, statute, regulation or ordinance, except claims excluded elsewhere in this Agreement.

(Arbitration Agmt., Rec. Doc. 32-1, p. 1, ¶ 2) (italics added).

Paragraph 12 of the Arbitration Agreement provides “[t]his is the complete agreement of the parties on the subject of arbitration of disputes except for any arbitration agreement in connection with any benefit plan,” and that “[ejxcept as provided in paragraph 15 below, this Agreement can only be revoked by a writing signed by both parties which specifically states an intent to revoke this Agreement.” (Arbitration Agmt., Rec. doc. 32-1, p. 3, ¶ 12) Paragraph 15 provides in pertinent part:

[m]y agreement to accept arbitration can be revoked at any time within 7 days of my signing this Agreement, but such revocation must be submitted in writing and will result in my immediate termination, demotion and/or denial of consideration for employment ... If this Agreement is not properly revoked by me within the 7-day time period described above, I understand that this Agreement will remain valid and enforceable unless modified by Waffle House pursuant to Paragraph 12 or unless Waffle House and I execute a subsequent arbitration agreement ...

(Arbitration Agmt., Rec. Doc. 32-1, p. 3, ¶ 15)

Paragraph 12 also expressly provides that “[t]his Agreement shall survive termination of my employment or expiration of any benefit plan.” (Arbitration Agmt., Rec. Doc. 32-1, p. 3, ¶ 12) The Arbitration Agreement also expressly specifies that “[t]his is an arbitration agreement, not an employment agreement. This Agreement does not in any way alter the ‘at-will’ status of my employment.” (Arbitration Agmt., Rec. Doc. 32-1, p. 3, ¶ 14)

In addition to signing the Arbitration Agreement, Plaintiff initialed the Arbitration Agreement immediately below a provision stating in bold capital letters: “I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I HAVE CAREFULLY READ ALL 4 PAGES OF THIS AGREEMENT, THAT I UNDERSTAND ITS TERMS, AND THAT I HAVE ENTERED INTO IT VOLUNTARILY. I UNDERSTAND THAT BY SIGNING THIS AGREEMENT, I AM GIVING UP MY RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL.” (Arbitration Agmt., Rec. Doc. 32-1, p. 4) (emphasis original).

PARTIES’ ARGUMENTS

Waffle House moves for an order dismissing or staying Plaintiffs action and compelling arbitration based on the provisions of the Arbitration Agreement between Plaintiff and Waffle House. Waffle House argues that the Arbitration Agreement is valid and enforceable and that the Title VII and Louisiana law violations Plaintiff alleges in this suit are expressly covered by the Arbitration Agreement. [689]*689First, Waffle House asserts that the parties formed a valid, enforceable arbitration agreement. Waffle House argues that the validity of the arbitration agreement should be decided under Georgia law, pursuant to a choice-of-law provision in the arbitration agreement, and that the agreement is a valid, enforceable contract under Georgia law.

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920 F. Supp. 2d 685, 117 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 537, 2013 WL 352348, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11630, 96 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 44,740, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/anderson-v-waffle-house-inc-laed-2013.