Clymer v. Jetro Cash & Carry Enters., Inc.

334 F. Supp. 3d 683
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedAugust 14, 2018
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 17-5530
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 334 F. Supp. 3d 683 (Clymer v. Jetro Cash & Carry Enters., Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Clymer v. Jetro Cash & Carry Enters., Inc., 334 F. Supp. 3d 683 (E.D. Pa. 2018).

Opinion

NITZA I. QUIÑONES ALEJANDRO, DISTRICT JUDGE

*687INTRODUCTION

Before this Court is a motion to compel arbitration filed by Defendants Jetro Cash and Carry Enterprises, Inc., and Restaurant Depot, LLC (collectively "Defendants"), pursuant to the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. §§ 1 - 14, in which they seek to stay the underlying action and to compel arbitration. [ECF 7]. Plaintiff Nadine Clymer ("Plaintiff") has opposed the motion. [ECF 8]. The issues raised in the motion have been fully briefed and are ripe for disposition.1 While this Court finds two of the provisions of the Arbitration Agreement unconscionable as applied, for the reasons set forth below, this Court will sever those unconscionable provisions and grant Defendants' motion to compel arbitration.

BACKGROUND

On December 11, 2017, Plaintiff filed an employment discrimination action against Defendants, her former employer, in which she asserts various claims, including, Defendants' alleged violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. , the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(k)et seq. , the Family Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), 29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq. , and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act ("PHRA"), 43 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 951 et seq. [ECF 1]. The complaint was amended on May 3, 2018, reasserting the same claims. [ECF 18]. Defendants move to compel arbitration of Plaintiff's claims pursuant to an arbitration agreement. [ECF 7].

The following is a summary of undisputed facts pertinent to the motion:2

Plaintiff worked as a supervisor for Defendants. Upon accepting employment on August 18, 2008, and then again on May 6, 2009, Plaintiff signed an arbitration agreement (the "Arbitration Agreement") which required all claims related to her employment to be submitted to arbitration. Plaintiff's employment was terminated on January 10, 2017.
In response to the motion to compel arbitration, Plaintiff argues that two provisions of the Arbitration Agreement are unenforceable/unconscionable; to wit : the provision regarding the payment of arbitration costs and the provision delineating a one-year limitation for submitting claims to arbitration.
The arbitration costs provision provides as follows:
The Company will pay one hundred percent (100%) of all costs peculiar to arbitration, including without limitation AAA administrative fees, arbitrator compensation and expenses, and costs of witnesses called by the Arbitrator ("arbitration costs"). Upon the conclusion of the arbitration hearing and based upon the evidence presented during the hearing, the Arbitrator shall determine and include in the final award an order that the employee reimburse the Company for up to 50% of the arbitration costs. In no event shall the employee be required to reimburse the Company prohibitive *688costs that would effectively deny him or her a forum to vindicate his or her rights except to the extent set forth above and unless otherwise ordered by the Arbitrator under applicable law, each party shall bear his, her or its own expenses, such as attorneys' fees, costs, and expert witness fees.
With respect to this provision, Plaintiff challenges only the portion which gives the arbitrator the discretion to order the employee to reimburse the company "up to 50% of the arbitration costs."
The one-year temporal limitation provision provides that:
No dispute shall be eligible for submission to arbitration under this policy where one year shall have elapsed from the occurrence of the event giving rise to the dispute. Filing a claim within this period is a condition precedent to arbitration-the exclusive method for resolving disputes arising out of or relating to Employee's employment with the Company. The one-year period set forth herein is not in the nature of a statute of limitations, but a temporal limitation on the substantive scope of this agreement. The parties, however, may submit his, her or its written arbitration request to the AAA.
* * *
To start the arbitration process, the complaining party must submit a written arbitration request to the AAA within one year of the date a cause of action accrues. A written arbitration request for a claim of wrongful discharge or discriminatory termination must be filed within one year of the date of termination.
The Arbitration Agreement also includes a severability clause which Defendants urge this Court to apply in the event it determines any of the challenged provisions to be unconscionable.

LEGAL STANDARD

When addressing a motion to compel arbitration, the Court must first determine which standard of review to apply: that which is applied to motions to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure ("Rule") 12 or that applied to motions for summary judgment under Rule 56. "Where the affirmative defense of arbitrability of claims is apparent on the face of a complaint (or documents relied upon in the complaint), the FAA would favor resolving a motion to compel arbitration under a motion to dismiss standard without the inherent delay of discovery." Guidotti v. Legal Helpers Debt Resolution, LLC. , 716 F.3d 764, 773-74 (3d Cir. 2013) (citations omitted). Where arbitrability is not so apparent, "the issue should be judged under the Rule 56 standard." Id. Here, the issue of arbitrability is not apparent on the face of the complaint because Plaintiff does not reference the Arbitration Agreement in her complaint or attach it thereto. Thus, this Court finds that the Rule 56 summary judgment standard is applicable.3

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Bluebook (online)
334 F. Supp. 3d 683, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/clymer-v-jetro-cash-carry-enters-inc-paed-2018.