What Appellate Courts Are Missing About PAGA Standing After Viking River Cruises

The California Supreme Court has scheduled oral argument for May 9, 2023 in Adolph v. Uber Technologies, Inc., a closely watched case that concerns whether a Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) plaintiff loses standing to pursue a representative claim when their individual PAGA claim is compelled to arbitration. This question was left open by the blockbuster decision in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, 142 S. Ct. 1906 (2022), in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that PAGA claims may be compelled to arbitration on an individual basis. Interpreting California law, the Court held that the plaintiff lacked standing to pursue a representative claim in court after being compelled to arbitration. However, as Justice Sotomayor pointed out, if the Court's "understanding of state law is wrong, California courts . . . will have the last word." Id. at 1925 (Sotomayor, J., concurring).