Melina Sandoval v. Engage Employer, Inc.; S2 HR Solutions 1D, LLC dba Engage PEO; and Does 1 through 25, inclusive
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Dana M. Sabraw (author)
Analysis
The court reviewed a joint stipulation by the parties to submit the plaintiff's employment claims to binding arbitration. The court granted the stipulation, stayed the action, and ordered the claims to be arbitrated under specific conditions including compliance with Armendariz and the selection of a specific arbitrator.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Granting the Joint Stipulation to Submit Plaintiff's Claims to Arbitration and Stay Proceedings“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT: (1) The above-captioned case (“Action”) is hereby stayed, and all deadlines and conferences set are vacated; (2) All Plaintiff’s claims against Defendants that are or could have been alleged in the Action shall be submitted to binding arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration Agreement Plaintiff executed on August 16, 2021” | agree with court The court is acting on a joint stipulation between the parties. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41 and general principles of party autonomy, parties may agree to stay proceedings and submit claims to arbitration. The order recites that 'good cause appearing' is the basis. The conditions imposed (Armendariz compliance, specific arbitrator) are consistent with the parties' agreement and applicable law regarding the enforceability of arbitration agreements in California employment contexts. The court correctly retains jurisdiction to enforce the award under the Federal Arbitration Act. |
The order itself: sound — The order is a straightforward adoption of a joint stipulation. It correctly identifies the legal framework for enforcing the arbitration agreement (Armendariz) and the mechanism for enforcement (FAA). The reasoning is sufficient for a procedural order based on party consent.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 MELINA SANDOVAL, and individual, Case No.: 26-cv-03827-DMS-GC Plaintiff, 12 v. ORDER GRANTING JOINT 13 STIPULATION TO SUBMIT ENGAGE EMPLOYER, INC., an PLAINTIFF’S CLAIMS TO 14 unknown business entity; S2 HR ARBITRATION AND STAY 15 SOLUTIONS 1D, LLC dba ENGAGE PROCEEDINGS PEO, an unknown business entity; and 16 DOES 1 through 25, inclusive, [ECF No. 7] 17 Defendants. 18 19 20 Having reviewed the parties’ Joint Stipulation to Submit Plaintiff’s Claims to 21 Arbitration and Stay Proceedings, (ECF No. 7), and good cause appearing, IT IS 22 HEREBY ORDERED THAT: 23 (1) The above-captioned case (“Action”) is hereby stayed, and all deadlines and 24 conferences set are vacated; 25 (2) All Plaintiff’s claims against Defendants that are or could have been alleged in 26 the Action shall be submitted to binding arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration 27 Agreement Plaintiff executed on August 16, 2021, (see ECF No. 7-1); 28 1 (3) The arbitration proceeding shall fully comply with the requirements of 2 || Armendariz v. Foundation Health Psychcare Services, Inc., 24 Cal. 4th 83 (2000), in that 3 arbitration shall: (a) provide a neutral arbitrator; (b) allow sufficient discovery; (c) 4 || provide all types of relief available to Plaintiff that otherwise would be available in court; 5 || and (d) provide a written arbitration award given by the arbitrator. Defendants shall pay 6 || all arbitrator’s fees and all costs unique to arbitration pursuant to Armendariz, 24 Cal. 4th 7 102, 118 and Fitz v. NCR Corp., 118 Cal. App. 4th 702, 712—13 (2004); 8 (4) The parties shall select the Honorable Eddie C. Sturgeon (Ret.) as the presiding 9 arbitrator over this action. In the event Judge Sturgeon is unavailable, the parties will 10 || cooperate in good faith to reach an agreement as to the selection of a neutral arbitrator who 11 also a retired judge with employment law experience. If the parties are unable to 12 || mutually agree on another arbitrator, the parties agree to proceed using the rank and strike 13 || procedures of a mutually agreeable arbitration services provider; 14 (5) This Court shall retain jurisdiction to enforce the Stipulation and Order 15 ||Submitting the Action to Binding Arbitration and any subsequent Arbitration Award in 16 || accordance with 9 U.S.C. § 9; 17 (6) Nothing in this Joint Stipulation shall operate as a waiver of any rights that either 18 || Plaintiff or Defendants may have in this action, including any and all objections, denials 19 || or defenses that Defendants have as to the allegations in the Complaint; and 20 (7) The parties are ordered to file with this Court a joint status report within 48 hours 21 || of the resolution of the arbitration proceedings. 22 IT IS SO ORDERED. 23 || Dated: August 11, 2026 2» 04 2mm Hon. Dana M. Sabraw 25 United States District Judge 26 27 28
Cites, in this corpus
- Fitz v. NCR Corp. D041738 · 2004-04-27
- Armendariz v. Found. Health Psychcare Servs., Inc. S075942 · 2000-08-24
- In Re Marriage of Bonds S079760 · 2000-08-21