In an unpublished decision, the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed
a California district court's denial of a motion to compel
arbitration.
The case involves claims brought by a putative class action of
exotic dancers under the Fair Labor Standard Act. The defendant
SFBSC Management, LLC ("BSC") made a motion to compel
arbitration of the labor claims. The district court denied the
motion, and BSC appealed.
The Ninth Circuit held that BSC was not a party to the performer
contracts and failed to establish that it has standing to enforce
the arbitration clause. BSC argued that alter ego or agency
allegations in the complaint conclusively establish its non-party
standing for purposes of arbitration. The Court noted that BSC had
the burden under the Federal Arbitration Act (the "FAA")
to show the existence of a valid, written agreement to arbitrate
and that the agreement to arbitrate encompasses the dispute at
issue. The Ninth Circuit stated that while
