Carrera Chapple v. Ancestry.com Operations Inc.
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Larry Alan Burns (author)
Analysis
Defendant Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. moved to compel arbitration based on an arbitration agreement that Plaintiff did not oppose, while Plaintiff requested a stay rather than dismissal. The court granted the motion to compel arbitration, dismissed Plaintiff's individual claims with prejudice, and dismissed the putative class claims without prejudice.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Motion to compel arbitration granted“The unopposed motion to compel arbitration is GRANTED.” | agree with court The court correctly granted the motion because the plaintiff filed a notice of non-opposition and did not dispute the enforceability of the class action waiver. Under the Federal Arbitration Act, a valid arbitration agreement covering the claims requires the court to compel arbitration. |
Individual claims dismissed with prejudice“Plaintiff's claims are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE” | agree with court The court dismissed the individual claims with prejudice because they are subject to the arbitration agreement. This is a standard procedural outcome when a court compels arbitration for all individual claims, effectively removing them from the court's jurisdiction. |
Putative class claims dismissed without prejudice“the putative class claims are DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE” | agree with court The court dismissed the class claims without prejudice because the enforceable class action waiver prevents the case from being maintained as a class action. Dismissing without prejudice is appropriate to preserve the rights of non-parties who were not bound by the arbitration agreement. |
The order itself: sound — The order is concise and directly addresses the motion. It cites the relevant Ninth Circuit guidance on clarity regarding dismissal versus stay (Bushley) and provides authority for dismissing the action when all claims are subject to arbitration (Pleasant, Sparling, Thinket Ink). The distinction between dismissing individual claims with prejudice and class claims without prejudice is legally sound and consistent with the enforceable class action waiver.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 MARTA CARRERA CHAPPLE Case No.: 20cv1456-LAB (DEB)
12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING 13 v. UNOPPOSED MOTION TO COMPEL ARBITRATION; AND 14 ANCESTRY.COM OPERATIONS INC., et al. 15 ORDER OF DISMISSAL Defendants. 16 17 18 Defendant Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. moved to compel arbitration 19 pursuant to Plaintiff Marta Carrera Chapple’s arbitration agreement, which it 20 argued covered all her claims. Plaintiff filed a notice of non-opposition to the 21 motion, but asked the Court to stay the action rather than dismiss it. This case was 22 filed as a putative class action. 23 The Ninth Circuit has directed district courts, when granting motions to 24 compel arbitration, to be as clear as possible whether a dismissal or stay is 25 intended. See Bushley v. Credit Suisse First Boston, 360 F.3d 1149, 1153 n.1 (9th 26 Cir. 2004). 27 Defendant has argued that the class action waiver is enforceable, and 28 Plaintiff does not dispute this. This case therefore cannot be maintained as a class 1 ||action. Where, as here, all claims are subject to an arbitration agreement, the Court 2 ||may dismiss the action. See Pleasant v. Dollar Gen’! Corp., 2015 WL 12811236, 3 *3 (C.D. Cal., Feb. 18, 2015) (citing Sparling v. Hoffman Const. Co., Inc., 864 4 635, 638 (9th Cir. 1988) and Thinket Ink Info. Res., Inc. v. Sun Microsystems, 5 || 368 F.3d 1053, 1060 (9th Cir. 2004)). 6 The unopposed motion to compel arbitration is GRANTED. Plaintiff's claims 7 ||are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE and the putative class claims are DISMISSED 8 || WITHOUT PREJUDICE. This action is DISMISSED and the Clerk is directed to 9 || close the docket. 10 11 IT IS SO ORDERED. 12 ||Dated: September 30, 2020 13 / oat 4 14 Honorable Larry Alan Burns 45 Chief United States District Judge 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28