Bower v. Inter-Con: CA Ct. of App. Upholds Employer’s Waiver of Arb.

On December 31, 2014, a California Court of Appeal issued a ruling affirming the trial court’s decision to deny employer Inter-Con Security Systems Inc.’s motion to compel arbitration of a putative wage-and-hour class action. Bower v. Inter-Con Security Systems Inc., No. A135940 (First Dist. Div. 3 Dec. 31, 2014) (slip op. available here). The court held that the company had waived its right to arbitration because it knew of an existing right to compel arbitration, it acted inconsistently with that right by requesting discovery documents relating to the entire potential class, and its actions prejudiced the plaintiff. 

In August of 2011, the plaintiff Bower, a former security guard, filed a wage-and-hour class action lawsuit against Inter-Con. The lawsuit alleged that the defendant failed to provide armed guard employees the required meal and rest periods under California law. While Inter-Con did not immediately file a petition to compel arbitration, it stated as an affirmative defense and in its objections to the plaintiff’s discovery that Bower’s claims were subject to arbitration. However, although the defendant agreed to provide responses and documents limited to the plaintiff’s individual capacity, it provided “at least one substantive answer” regarding class issues and even propounded its own discovery on class-wide issues. Slip op. at 2. Inter-Con argued that it was not uncommon for wage-and-hour defendants to seek information on individuals with similar claims, so seeking class-wide discovery was not inconsistent with its right to arbitrate. The opinion, written by Justice William McGuiness and joined by Justices Stuart Pollak and Peter Siggins, states, “We will simply reiterate the trial court’s response to Inter-Con’s claim: ‘Come on. Of course it is.’ Discovery concerning individuals who may support a plaintiff’s factual claims is distinct from classwide discovery.” Id. at 8.

Inter-Con only sought to compel arbitration after the plaintiff indicated he would amend his complaint to include unarmed guards and after settlement negotiations fell through, around May of 2012. The defendant contended that its actions did not prejudice the plaintiff because Inter-Con did not gain an unfair advantage in the litigation, other than causing the plaintiff to incur court costs and legal expenses. However, the court found that Inter-Con’s actions caused the plaintiff unreasonable delay in taking advantage of the efficiencies of arbitration, and that was sufficient to waive the defendant’s right to compel arbitration. Among other tactics, the defendant pursued a class-wide settlement in its settlement negotiations even though the arbitration agreement’s terms limited its claims to arbitration on an individual basis only, which led the plaintiff believe the company intended to pursue a resolution in court. The court concluded, “The crux of the prejudice suffered by Bower is that he suffered delay and incurred costs in litigating and attempting to settle class claims that Inter-Con led him to believe would be encompassed within the litigation.” Slip op. at 11.