David F. Faustman was featured in the Daily Journal article "Iskanian Judge puts Arbitration First, PAGA Claim Second." Full text can be found in the December 2, 2015, issue, but a synopsis is below.
A California superior court judge has ruled that individual arbitration of a former CLS transportation employee will precede a representative court proceeding under the state's Privacy Attorney General Act (PAGA) which involves other former employees of the company.
The dispute, which has taken place over the course of 9 years, is said to have transformed legal understanding of employment arbitration contracts and expanded use of the PAGA.
Fox Rothschild's David Faustman, who is representing CLS Transportation, countered that the spirit of Iskanian's arbitration contract would be violated by handling the PAGA claim first. He noted that a March state appellate court decision Franco v. Arakelian Enterprises Inc., Cal. App. 234, was appropriate in ruling that individual arbitration comes first.
Faustman praised the order that "protects the importance of the arbitration agreement" and said that either both sides would agree to an arbitrator before Jan. 13 or the superior court judge would appoint one.
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