Dish Network L.L.C. v. Ray

900 F.3d 1240
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedAugust 21, 2018
DocketNo. 17-1013
StatusPublished
Cited by68 cases

This text of 900 F.3d 1240 (Dish Network L.L.C. v. Ray) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dish Network L.L.C. v. Ray, 900 F.3d 1240 (10th Cir. 2018).

Opinions

SEYMOUR, Circuit Judge.

This case involves an arbitration proceeding between DISH Network L.L.C. ("DISH") and Matthew Ray, a former employee who signed an arbitration agreement when he was employed. The arbitrator determined that the Arbitration Agreement between the two parties permitted classwide arbitration, and then stayed the arbitration to permit DISH to contest the issue in court. DISH filed a Petition to Vacate Clause Construction Arbitration Award, which the district court denied. We affirm.

I.

Matthew Ray worked as a sales associate for DISH until his termination in 2015. When he was employed, Mr. Ray signed an Arbitration Agreement drafted by DISH, which provided the following:

[T]he Employee and DISH agree that any claim, controversy and/or dispute between them, arising out of and/or in any way related to Employee's application for employment, employment and/or termination of employment, whenever and wherever brought, shall be *1242resolved by arbitration. The Employee agrees that this Agreement is governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq., and is fully enforceable.
... The arbitration shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the substantive law of the State in which the Employee performs services for DISH as of the date of the demand for arbitration, or in the event the Employee is no longer employed by DISH, the substantive law of the State in which the Employee last performed services for DISH. A single arbitrator engaged in the practice of law from the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") shall conduct the arbitration under the then current procedures of the AAA's National Rules for the Resolution of Employment Disputes ("Rules").

Aplt. App. at 51 (emphasis added).

After his termination, Mr. Ray initially filed an action in the federal district court alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), Colorado's Wage Claim Act, Colorado's Minimum Wage Act, and a common law claim for breach of contract. Dish moved to dismiss, demanding that Mr. Ray arbitrate his claims pursuant to the Agreement. Mr. Ray dismissed the lawsuit and filed with the American Arbitration Association ("AAA"), asserting the same four claims. In addition, and the focus of this case, Mr. Ray attempted to pursue his claims as a class action under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23 and a collective action under 29 U.S.C. § 216(b).

One of the issues presented to the arbitrator was whether the Agreement permitted class arbitration. In his Clause Construction Award, the arbitrator first determined that he had jurisdiction to decide the issue. He reasoned that the determination of whether an arbitration agreement permits classwide arbitration was not a "gateway issue," an issue that is normally decided by courts rather than arbitrators. Gateway disputes include "whether the parties have a valid arbitration agreement at all or whether a concededly binding arbitration clause applies to a certain type of controversy." Green Tree Fin. Corp. v. Bazzle , 539 U.S. 444, 452, 123 S.Ct. 2402, 156 L.Ed.2d 414 (2003) (plurality opinion) (citing Howsam v. Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc. , 537 U.S. 79, 83, 123 S.Ct. 588, 154 L.Ed.2d 491 (2002) ); John Wiley & Sons, Inc. v. Livingston , 376 U.S. 543, 546-47, 84 S.Ct. 909, 11 L.Ed.2d 898 (1964) (a court should decide whether arbitration agreement survived corporate merger and bound resulting corporation); AT&T Techs., Inc. v. Communications Workers of America , 475 U.S. 643, 651-52, 106 S.Ct. 1415, 89 L.Ed.2d 648 (1986) (a court should decide whether labor-management layoff controversy falls within arbitration clause of collective-bargaining agreement). The arbitrator reasoned that even if the issue presented was a "gateway issue," the parties had clearly and unmistakably expressed their intention in the Agreement that questions of arbitrability be resolved by the arbitrator rather than the courts.

After concluding that he had jurisdiction to decide the issue, the arbitrator analyzed the language of the Agreement to determine the parties' intent as to classwide arbitration. Examining six features relevant to that end, the arbitrator ultimately concluded that the Agreement permitted collective action covering Mr. Ray's FLSA and state law claims.

DISH filed with the district court a Petition to Vacate Clause Construction Award, which the court denied. The court agreed with the arbitrator that he had jurisdiction to decide the issue. Although, unlike the arbitrator, the court concluded that the determination of classwide arbitrability was a "gateway issue" normally decided by *1243the court, it nevertheless held that the Agreement clearly and unmistakably expressed the parties' intention to have the arbitrator resolve such questions. The court also held that the arbitrator did not manifestly disregard the law in interpreting the Agreement. DISH appeals.

II.

DISH first contends that the arbitrator exceeded his powers in determining the gateway issue of jurisdiction over the arbitrability of class and collective claims.

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Bluebook (online)
900 F.3d 1240, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dish-network-llc-v-ray-ca10-2018.