Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →

New Prime Inc. v. Dominic Oliveira

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, No. 15-2364 · judgment May 12, 2017

Decided · January 15, 2019

Pre-decision estimate: 2% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Questions presented

Section 1 of the Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA") provides that the FAA does not apply "to contracts of employment of seamen, railroad employees, or any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce." 9 U.S.C. § 1. Respondent is an independent contractor whose agreement with interstate trucking company New Prime, Inc. ("Prime") includes a mandatory arbitration provision requiring Respondent to arbitrate all workplace disputes with Prime on an individual basis. Respondent does not challenge the validity of the arbitration agreement he signed or the delegation clause contained therein, which mandates that all disputes regarding arbitrability be decided by an arbitrator. Nonetheless, Respondent filed a putative class action in court and opposed arbitration on the basis of the Section 1 exemption. The questions presented are:

Whether a dispute over applicability of the FAA's Section 1 exemption is an arbitrability issue that must be resolved in arbitration pursuant to a valid delegation clause.
Whether the FAA's Section 1 exemption, which applies on its face only to "contracts of employment," is inapplicable to independent contractor agreements.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Theodore J. Boutrous Jr.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

For respondent
Jennifer Dale Bennett
Gupta Wessler LLP

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 5 conferences

Amicus briefs
2 cert-stage · 16 merits
(5 supporting pet./neither, 11 respondent)

Argument & decision

Argued October 3, 2018 — Theodore J. Boutrous · Jennifer D. Bennett. Audio and transcript

Decided January 15, 2019. Opinion by Gorsuch.

Proceedings

Aug 05 2019
The record from the U.S.C.A. 1st Circuit has been returned.
Feb 19 2019
JUDGMENT ISSUED.
Jan 15 2019
Adjudged to be AFFIRMED. Gorsuch, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which all other Members joined, except Kavanaugh, J., who took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. Ginsburg, J., filed a concurring opinion.
Oct 03 2018
Argued. For petitioner: Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr., Los Angeles, Cal. For respondent: Jennifer D. Bennett, Oakland, Cal.
Aug 22 2018
Reply of petitioner New Prime, Inc. filed. (Distributed)
Aug 14 2018
Record received from U.S.C.A. 1st Circuit. 1 envelope.
Aug 08 2018
Record for the U.S.C.A. 1st Circuit is electronic and located on PACER.
Aug 07 2018
Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 1st Circuit.
Aug 03 2018
CIRCULATED
Jul 30 2018
Application (18A99) granted by Justice Breyer extending the time to file petitioner's reply brief on the merits to and including August 24, 2018.
Jul 25 2018
Brief amicus curiae of Employment Law Scholars filed.
Jul 25 2018
Application (18A99) to extend the time to file a reply brief on the merits from August 17, 2018 to August 24, 2018, submitted to Justice Breyer.
Jul 25 2018
Brief amicus curiae of Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse filed.
Jul 25 2018
Brief amicus curiae of Constitutional Accountability Center filed.
Jul 25 2018
Brief amicus curiae of Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Inc. filed.
Jul 25 2018
Brief amici curiae of Steve Viscelli, et al. filed.
Jul 25 2018
Brief amici curiae of Historians filed.
Jul 25 2018
Brief amici curiae of International Brotherhood of Teamsters, et al. filed.
Jul 25 2018
Brief amici curiae of Massachusetts, et al. filed.
Jul 25 2018
Brief amici curiae of Statutory Construction Scholars filed.
Jul 24 2018
Brief amicus curiae of American Association for Justice filed.
Jul 24 2018
Brief amicus curiae of Public Citizen, Inc. filed.
Jul 20 2018
Motion of New Prime, Inc. for an extension of time not accepted for filing. (July 24, 2018)
Jul 18 2018
Brief of respondent Dominic Oliveira filed.
Jul 09 2018
SET FOR ARGUMENT On Wednesday, October 3, 2018
Jun 20 2018
Motion for a further extension of time to file respondent's brief on the merits granted, and the time is extended to and including July 18, 2018.
Jun 08 2018
Motion for a further extension of time filed.
May 21 2018
Brief amicus curiae of Cato Institute filed.
May 21 2018
Brief amicus curiae of American Trucking Associations, Inc. filed.
May 21 2018
Brief amici curiae of Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et al. filed.
May 21 2018
Brief amicus curiae of New England Legal Foundation filed.
May 21 2018
Brief amicus curiae of Customized Logistics and Delivery Association filed.
May 14 2018
Brief of petitioner New Prime Inc. filed.
May 14 2018
Joint appendix filed. (Statement of cost filed).
Mar 09 2018
Motion to extend the time to file (the joint appendix and petitioner's brief on the merits) granted and the time is extended to and including May 14, 2018. The time to file respondent's brief on the merits is extended to and including July 11, 2018.
Mar 06 2018
Motion for an extension of time filed.
Feb 26 2018
Petition GRANTED.
Feb 20 2018
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/23/2018.
Feb 05 2018
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/16/2018.
Jan 16 2018
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/19/2018.
Jan 08 2018
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/12/2018.
Jan 04 2018
Rescheduled.
Dec 06 2017
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/5/2018.
Dec 01 2017
Reply of petitioner New Prime Inc. filed.
Nov 20 2017
Brief of respondent Dominic Oliveira in opposition filed.
Oct 27 2017
Order further extending time to file response to petition to and including November 20, 2017.
Oct 06 2017
Brief amicus curiae of American Trucking Associations, Inc. filed.
Oct 06 2017
Brief amicus curiae of Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America filed.
Sep 21 2017
Order extending time to file response to petition to and including November 6, 2017.
Sep 06 2017
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 6, 2017)