Installit, Inc. v. Carpenters 46 Northern California Counties Conference Board

214 F. Supp. 3d 855, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 137975, 2016 WL 5767863
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedOctober 4, 2016
DocketCase No. 16-cv-01514-TEH
StatusPublished

This text of 214 F. Supp. 3d 855 (Installit, Inc. v. Carpenters 46 Northern California Counties Conference Board) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Installit, Inc. v. Carpenters 46 Northern California Counties Conference Board, 214 F. Supp. 3d 855, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 137975, 2016 WL 5767863 (N.D. Cal. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO COMPEL ARBITRATION AND STAYING CASE

THELTON E. HENDERSON, United States District Judge

This matter came before the Court on September 19, 2016 for a hearing on Defendant’s motion to compel arbitration. After carefully considering the parties’ writ[858]*858ten and oral arguments, the Court now GRANTS Defendant’s motion and hereby STAYS Plaintiffs claim pending completion of arbitration.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Installit Inc. (“Installit”) is a California corporation and employer in the business of installing pre-fabricated doors and cabinets in the San Francisco Bay Area. Compl. ¶ 4. Defendant Carpenters 46 Northern California Counties Conference Board (“Carpenters” or “the Union”) is a labor organization with its principal place of business in Oakland. Id. ¶ 5.

Installit has been a signatory to a collective bargaining agreement with Carpenters since its formation as a company in 1993. Id. ¶ 15. The latest iteration of that agreement was the 2011 Carpenters Master Agreement for' Northern California (“2011 Agreement”), which provided in part:

The Agreement shall remain in full force and effect from the 18th day of May, 2011 through the 30th day of June, 2015, and shall continue thereafter unless either party, not more than ninety (90) days nor less than sixty (60) days prior to the 30th day of June, 2015 ... serves written notice on the other of its desire to ... extend or terminate this Agreement.

2011 Agreement § 2 (Ex. C to Imus Deck). The parties agree that the terms of the 2011 Agreement were in effect when on April 15, 2015 Carpenters sent Installit a notice of termination. Compl. ¶ 15. They dispute whether between April 15 and June 30, 2015 they were bound by an additional agreement. Installit claims that it had become a signatory to the 2014 Master Agreement (“2014 Agreement”) with Carpenters, which went into effect on July 1, 2014 and was to expire on June 30, 2019. Compl. ¶ 15. The Union claims that it had negotiated an agreement for the period of 2014 to 2018 with other employers and that Installit never became a signatory to that agreement. Mot. at 2.

Between June 15th and June 30th, 2015, the parties entered into negotiations over a successor agreement. Compl. ¶ 16. During those negotiations, Installit alleges that Carpenters’ representatives insisted that Installit would not be accepted as a signatory unless B-K Mill, a third-party neutral employer, became a signatory and joined the Union. Compl. ¶¶ 15-17. B-K Mill is a non-union manufacturer of cabinets and doors. Mot. at 3.

On June 30, 2015, Carpenters sent In-stallit a Notice of Impasse and a letter declaring that Installit “is no longer bound to the Carpenters Master Labor Agreement for Northern California.” Compl. ¶ 17. As a result of the termination, Instal-lit allegedly lost all of its contracts with manufacturers, terminated its employees and ceased doing business. Id. ¶ 1. Instal-lit’s loss of employees caused the Carpenters Pension Trust Fund for Northern California to assess Installit over $1.4 million in withdrawal liability. Id.

Plaintiff claims that Defendant violated Section 8(b)(4) of the Labor Management Relations Act (“LMRA”), 29 U.S.C.A. § 158(b)(4), when it terminated Installit for the purpose of pressuring another employer, B-K Mill, to enter into a collective bargaining agreement with the Union. Compl. ¶¶ 21-22. This conduct, Plaintiff alleges, constitutes an unfair labor practice and gives rise to a cause of action for damages under Section 303 of the LMRA, 29 U.S.C.A. § 187. Id. Plaintiff seeks declaratory relief, compensatory damages, punitive damages, costs and attorneys’ fees. Compl. ¶ 3.

Defendant denies most allegations and raises a number of affirmative defenses, including but not limited to: the arbitrability of Plaintiffs claim, a statute of limitations bar, and failure to exhaust remedies [859]*859available through the National Labor Relations Board. Answer at 4.

Defendant seeks to compel arbitration on the basis that the 2011 Agreement requires arbitration of Plaintiffs statutory claim. Mot. at 2. Section 51 of the 2011 Agreement includes a grievance and arbitration procedure leading to final and binding arbitration of “any dispute concerning any application or interpretations of this Agreement.” 2011 Agreement § 51 (emphasis added). Section 7 sets a procedure for resolving disputes following a notice of termination:

The Employer ... specifically agrees that the permanent neutral Arbitrator may order ... the parties to bargain in good faith for any period following a written notice of termination of this Agreement unless and until a lawful impasse occurs or until a successor Agreement is negotiated.

2011 Agreement § 7 (Ex. C to Imus Deck).

Before the Court is Defendant’s motion to compel arbitration, filed on August 11, 2016.

LEGAL STANDARD

I. The Federal Arbitration Act (“FAC”)

The Federal Arbitration Act applies to arbitration agreements in any contract affecting interstate commerce. See Circuit City Stores, Inc. v. Adams, 532 U.S. 105, 119, 121 S.Ct. 1302, 149 L.Ed.2d 234 (2001); 9 U.S.C.A. § 2. Section 4 of the FAA ensures that “private agreements to arbitrate are enforced according to their terms.” Volt Info. Scis., Inc. v. Bd. of Trs. of Leland Stanford Junior Univ., 489 U.S. 468, 479, 109 S.Ct. 1248, 103 L.Ed.2d 488 (1989). Accordingly, a party to an arbitration agreement can petition a United States District Court for an order directing that “arbitration proceed in the manner provided for in such agreement.” 9 U.S.C.A. § 4. Additionally, the FAA contains a mandatory stay provision. Id. § 3.

Under the FAA, arbitration agreements “shall be valid, irrevocable, and enforceable save upon such grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract.” Id. § 2. “[T]he FAA’s purpose is to give preference (instead of mere equality) to arbitration provisions.” Mortensen v. Bresnan Commc’ns, LLC, 122, F.3d 1151, 1160 (9th Cir. 2013). Nonetheless, arbitration “is a matter of consent, not coercion.” Volt, 489 U.S. at 479, 109 S.Ct. 1248. In accordance with this principle, the Supreme Court has held that parties may agree to limit the issues subject to arbitration. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. v. Soler Chrysler—Plymouth, Inc., 473 U.S. 614, 628, 105 S.Ct. 3346, 87 L.Ed.2d 444 (1985).

“The party seeking arbitration bears the burden of proving the existence of an arbitration agreement, and the party opposing arbitration bears the burden of proving any defense, such as unconsciona-bility.” Pinnacle Museum Tower Assn. v. Pinnacle Mkt. Dev., LLC, 55 Cal.4th 223, 236, 145 Cal.Rptr.3d 514, 282 P.3d 1217 (2012). Furthermore, “the party resisting arbitration bears the burden of proving that the claims at issue are unsuitable for arbitration.” Green Tree Fin. Corp.-Ala. v. Randolph,

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214 F. Supp. 3d 855, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 137975, 2016 WL 5767863, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/installit-inc-v-carpenters-46-northern-california-counties-conference-cand-2016.