Muro v. Cornerstone Staffing Solutions

Plaintiff Tony Muro entered into an employment contract with defendant Cornerstone Staffing Solutions, Inc. (Cornerstone).  The contract included a provision requiring that all disputes arising out of Muro's employment with Cornerstone to be resolved by arbitration.  It also incorporated a class action waiver provision.  In response to Muro's present action, which was styled as a proposed class action and alleged various Labor Code violations, Cornerstone moved to compel arbitration and dismiss the class claims.

Relying heavily on Garrido v. Air Liquide Industrial, U.S. LP (2015) 241 Cal.App.4th 833 (Garrido), the trial court concluded the contract was exempted from the operation of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA; 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.) and was instead governed by California law.  It further determined that the California Supreme Court's decision in Gentry v. Superior Court (2007) 42 Cal.4th 443 (Gentry) (overruled on other grounds in Iskarian v. CLS Tranportation, Los Angeles, LLC (2014) 59 Cal.4th 348) continued to provide the relevant framework for evaluating whether the class waiver provision in the contract was enforceable under California law.  After applying Gentry to the record here, the court found the class waiver provision of the contract unenforceable and denied the motion to compel arbitration.  Cornerstone appeals, but finding no error, we affirm.

Muro v. Cornerstone Staffing Solutions - filed Feb. 23, 2018, Fourth District, Div. One
Cite as 2018 S.O.S. 871
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