Vest v. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.

371 F. Supp. 3d 593
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedAugust 21, 2018
DocketCase No. 18-00262-CV-W-ODS
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 371 F. Supp. 3d 593 (Vest v. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vest v. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., 371 F. Supp. 3d 593 (E.D. Mo. 2018).

Opinion

ORTRIE D. SMITH, SENIOR JUDGE

*596Pending is Defendant's motion to compel arbitration. Doc. # 7. For the following reasons, the Court grants the motion, compels arbitration, and stays the matter pending completion of arbitration.

I. BACKGROUND1

Defendant employed Plaintiff as a server at its Independence, Missouri location from March 31, 2014, to July 17, 2017. Plaintiff's petition alleges Defendant violated the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") and Missouri's Minimum Wage Law ("MMWL") by failing to pay employees minimum wage. Plaintiff seeks certification of an FLSA collective action, and two class actions pursuant to Missouri Rule of Civil Procedure 52.08. Plaintiff also brings a claim for unjust enrichment/quantum meruit. After removing the matter from the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri (Doc. # 1), Defendant filed its motion to compel arbitration.2

Defendant moves to compel arbitration based on an Alternative Dispute Resolution Agreement ("arbitration agreement") allegedly agreed to by Plaintiff on July 9, 2015. Defendant maintains an online training system, Cracker Barrel University, in which one module entitled "ADR Sign-off" prompts employees to review and accept an arbitration agreement. After accessing the ADR module with a unique identification number and password, the employee *597is presented with Defendant's arbitration agreement. After an opportunity to read and review the arbitration agreement, the employee is presented with a prompt stating: "[p]lease close this document and mark 'complete' to signify you have read, understood and will comply with the agreement." Upon closing the document, the employee is presented with a screen prompting the employee to click "Mark Complete." After an employee does so, Defendant's system records the date and time the employee completed the module.

The arbitration agreement is typical of those between an employee and employer. Doc. # 8-2. The opening preamble states the parties exchange mutual promises as contained in the agreement, identifies an agreement to use informal conciliation and confidential binding arbitration, and provides the agreement is governed by the Federal Arbitration Act. The agreement lists the types of disputes covered, and identifies disputes not covered, such as complaints to administrative agencies. Informal conciliation procedures are detailed, and arbitration is identified as the exclusive forum to resolve disputes not settled in conciliation. The agreement identifies rules governing the arbitration proceeding, as well as the timing and location of an arbitration hearing. The parties can elect to have legal representation, and states Defendant will forgo legal counsel if the employee does not seek counsel. The agreement details applicable limits on discovery processes, and the use of witnesses and exhibits at the arbitration hearing. The agreement permits an arbiter to award relief to either party to the extent the party is entitled to such relief by law. As discussed in detail below, the agreement provides fees and costs associated with judicial actions. Finally, the agreement waives the ability to bring class and collective actions in court or arbitration, and waives the right to a jury trial.

Here, Defendant's records indicate Plaintiff completed the ADR Sign-off module at 9:49 p.m. on July 9, 2015. Defendant cites Plaintiff's completion of the module and agreement to arbitrate claims as the basis for its pending motion. Plaintiff states she was directed to complete many different trainings in Defendant's online system, and she understood all materials in the system to be informative and "not anything I had a choice in." Doc. # 25-1, ¶ 4. Additionally, Plaintiff asserts she was not asked to consent or agree to an agreement or contract in Defendant's online system, and did not consent or agree to any agreement or contract in the system. Defendant disagrees, arguing Plaintiff entered a valid contract to arbitrate claims asserted in this matter, and seeks to compel her to arbitrate her claims.

II. DISCUSSION

Under the Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA"), a court's role is "limited to determining (1) whether a valid agreement to arbitrate exists and, if it does, (2) whether the agreement encompasses the dispute." Pro Tech Indus. v. URS Corp. , 377 F.3d 868, 871 (8th Cir. 2004) ; see also Int'l Bhd. of Elec. Workers v. Hope Elec. Corp. , 380 F.3d 1084, 1098-99 (8th Cir. 2004). Absent an enforceable agreement to arbitrate a particular dispute, neither party can compel arbitration of that dispute. See Bank of Am., N.A. v. UMB Fin. Servs., Inc. , 618 F.3d 906, 911 (8th Cir. 2010) (quoting Berkley v. Dillard's Inc. , 450 F.3d 775, 777 (8th Cir. 2006) ); Granite Rock Co. v. Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters , 561 U.S. 287, 299-300, 130 S.Ct. 2847, 177 L.Ed.2d 567 (2010). The FAA establishes "a liberal federal policy favoring arbitration agreements." Epic Sys. Corp. v. Lewis , --- U.S. ----, 138 S.Ct. 1612, 1621, 200 L.Ed.2d 889 (2018) (quoting *598Moses H. Cone Mem'l Hosp. v. Mercury Constr. Corp. , 460 U.S. 1, 24-25, 103 S.Ct. 927, 74 L.Ed.2d 765 (1983) ).

State law is applied to determine if a binding agreement exists. Arthur Andersen LLP v. Carlisle , 556 U.S. 624

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371 F. Supp. 3d 593, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vest-v-cracker-barrel-old-country-store-inc-moed-2018.