Lang v. Skytap, Inc.

347 F. Supp. 3d 420
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedOctober 24, 2018
DocketCase No. 4:18-cv-01292-KAW
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 347 F. Supp. 3d 420 (Lang v. Skytap, Inc.) 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
Lang v. Skytap, Inc., 347 F. Supp. 3d 420 (N.D. Cal. 2018).

Opinion

KANDIS A. WESTMORE, United States Magistrate Judge

Plaintiff Rudolf Lang filed this action against Defendants Skytap, Inc. and Thor Culverhouse, alleging ten causes of action surrounding the termination of Plaintiff's employment with Defendants. (Defs.' Not. of Removal, Ex. A ("Compl."), Dkt. No. 1.) Pending before the Court is Defendants' motion to compel arbitration. (Defs.' Mot. to Compel, Dkt No. 20.) The Court deems the matter suitable for disposition without hearing pursuant to Civil Local Rule 7-1(b). Having considered the papers filed by the parties and the relevant legal authority, the Court GRANTS Defendants' motion to compel arbitration.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff entered into an employment agreement with Defendants on December 2, 2013. (Domanico Decl., Ex. 1 ("Emp't Agree't") at 3, Dkt. No. 22-1.) The employment agreement signed by both parties contained an agreement to arbitrate all claims between the parties. (Id. ) The arbitration agreement provides, in relevant part:

[A]ny dispute or controversy arising out of, relating to, or concerning any interpretation, construction, performance, or breach of this agreement, will be settled by arbitration to be held in King County, Washington, in accordance with the Employment Dispute Resolution Rules then in effect of the American Arbitration Association. The arbitrator may grant injunctions or other relief in a dispute or controversy. The decision of the arbitrator will be final, conclusive, and binding on the parties to the arbitration. Judgment may be entered on the arbitrator's decision in any court having jurisdiction. The company and I will each pay one-half of the costs and expenses of the arbitration, and each of us will separately pay our counsel fees and expenses.

(Emp't Agree't at 3.) The arbitration agreement provides that both parties agree to arbitrate all claims, including claims for wrongful termination, breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, negligent or intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent or intentional misrepresentation, *426negligent or intentional interference with contract, and claims for any other violation of federal, state, or municipal statute. (Id. ) Both Plaintiff and Defendants may seek equitable relief as necessary from a court of competent jurisdiction. (Id. ) The Agreement also contains a severability clause, stating that, "if one or more of the provisions in this Agreement is deemed void by law, then the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect." (Id. ) Additionally, the offer letter from Defendants to Plaintiff asserts that the arbitration agreement in the employment agreement is a term of Plaintiff's employment. (Domanico Decl., Ex. 2 ("Offer Ltr.") at 5, Dkt. No. 22-2.)

Plaintiff filed this action in Contra Costa County Superior Court on October 6, 2017. (Compl.) Plaintiff asserted claims for: (1) wrongful termination; (2) breach of employment contract; (3) breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing; (4) promissory estoppel; (5) failure to pay all wages; (6) intentional interference with contract; (7) intentional misrepresentation; (8) "promise without intent to perform;" (9) intentional infliction of emotional distress; and (10) declaratory relief. (Id. at 1.) On February 27, 2018, Defendants removed the action to this Court. (Defs'. Notice of Removal, Dkt. No. 1.)

Defendants filed the instant motion to compel arbitration on August 6, 2018. (Defs.' Mot. to Compel.) Plaintiff filed his opposition on August 20, 2018. (Plf.'s Opp'n, Dkt. No. 26.) Defendants filed their reply brief on August 27, 2018. (Defs.' Reply, Dkt. No. 28.)

II. LEGAL STANDARD

Under the Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA"), 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq. , arbitration agreements "shall be valid, irrevocable, and enforceable, save upon such grounds that exist at law or in equity for the revocation of a contract." 9 U.S.C. § 2. "Once the Court has determined that an arbitration agreement relates to a transaction involving interstate commerce, thereby falling under the FAA, the court's only role is to determine whether a valid arbitration agreement exists and whether the scope of the dispute falls within that agreement." Ramirez v. Cintas Corp. , No. C 04-281-JSW, 2005 WL 2894628, at *3 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 2, 2005) (citing 9 U.S.C. § 4 ; Chiron Corp. v. Ortho Diagnostic Sys., Inc. , 207 F.3d 1126, 1130 (9th Cir. 2000) ).

III. DISCUSSION

This arbitration agreement relates to interstate commerce. Defendant Skytap is a private Washington state company offering a cloud computing service, and in so doing, has employees in twenty-eight states and major facilities in four states. (Colish Decl., at ¶¶ 2-5, Dkt. No. 21.) Therefore, the FAA governs this arbitration agreement1 , and as such, is only unenforceable under state contract law.

In opposing Defendants' motion to compel arbitration, Plaintiff argues that the arbitration agreement is unconscionable, and that no one provision can be severed so as to make the agreement conscionable. (Plf.'s Opp'n at 1, 8-9.) Under California law, the party opposing arbitration bears the burden of proving that the arbitration provision is unenforceable.

*427Sonic-Calabasas A, Inc. v. Moreno , 57 Cal. 4th 1109, 1149, 163 Cal.Rptr.3d 269, 311 P.3d 184 (2013). The arbitration agreement must be both procedurally and substantively unconscionable at the time it was made to be unenforceable. See Sanchez v. Valencia Holding Co., LLC , 61 Cal. 4th 899, 910, 190 Cal.Rptr.3d 812, 353 P.3d 741

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
347 F. Supp. 3d 420, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lang-v-skytap-inc-cand-2018.