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Postmates, LLC, fka Postmates, Inc. v. Jacob Rimler, et al.

Paid petition · Court of Appeal of California, First Appellate District, No. A156450 · judgment December 9, 2020

Dismissed · October 17, 2022
Pre-decision estimate: 1% cert probability

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

Question presented

The Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) provides that arbitration agreements “shall be valid, irrevocable, and enforceable, save upon such grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract.” 9 U.S.C. § 2. In Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, 138 S. Ct. 1612 (2018), this Court held that the FAA “protect[s]” individual arbitration agreements “pretty absolutely,” and requires courts “to enforce, not override, the terms of [an] arbitration agreement[]” “providing for individualized proceedings.” Id. at 1619, 1621, 1623. Courts in California have created a broad but unwritten exception to the FAA’s otherwise “emphatic directions.” Epic Sys., 138 S. Ct. at 1621. According to the California Supreme Court, claims arising under the California Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”)—which threaten employers with massive penalties for even trivial legal violations—are wholly exempt from the FAA, and agreements calling for individual arbitration are therefore unenforceable as to PAGA claims. See Iskanian v. CLS Transp. L.A., LLC, 59 Cal.4th 348, 360 (2014). The Ninth Circuit affirmed this conclusion in Sakkab v. Luxxotica Retail North America, Inc., 803 F.3d 425 (9th Cir. 2015). And both courts have declined to reassess this conclusion after Epic Systems. The question presented is: Whether agreements calling for individual arbitration are enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act with respect to claims asserted under the California Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Theane Evangelis Kapur
Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher, LLP

For respondent
Shannon Liss-Riordan
Lichten & Liss-Riordan, P.C.

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Amicus briefs
1 cert-stage

Proceedings

  1. Oct 17 2022
    Petition Dismissed - Rule 46.
  2. Oct 13 2022
    Joint motion to dismiss the petition for a writ of certiorari pursuant to Rule 46 filed.
    Main DocumentProof of Service
  3. Sep 23 2022
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including October 31, 2022.
  4. Sep 21 2022
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from September 30, 2022 to October 31, 2022, submitted to The Clerk.
    Main Document
  5. Jul 14 2022
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including September 30, 2022.
  6. Jul 13 2022
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from July 22, 2022 to September 30, 2022, submitted to The Clerk.
    Main Document
  7. May 24 2022
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including July 22, 2022.
  8. May 23 2022
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from May 31, 2022 to July 22, 2022, submitted to The Clerk.
    Main Document
  9. Apr 26 2022
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including May 31, 2022.
  10. Apr 25 2022
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from April 29, 2021 to May 31, 2022, submitted to The Clerk.
    Main Document
  11. Mar 22 2022
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including April 29, 2022.
  12. Mar 21 2022
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from March 31, 2022 to April 29, 2022, submitted to The Clerk.
    Main Document
  13. Jan 20 2022
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including March 31, 2022.
  14. Jan 19 2022
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from January 31, 2022 to March 31, 2022, submitted to The Clerk.
    Main Document
  15. Nov 18 2021
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including January 31, 2022.
  16. Nov 17 2021
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from December 1, 2021 to January 31, 2022, submitted to The Clerk.
    Main Document
  17. Sep 24 2021
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including December 1, 2021.
  18. Sep 23 2021
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from October 20, 2021 to December 1, 2021, submitted to The Clerk.
    Main Document
  19. Sep 20 2021
    Response Requested. (Due October 20, 2021)
  20. Sep 15 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/8/2021.
  21. Aug 17 2021
    Brief amicus curiae of Retail Litigation Center, Inc. filed.
    Main DocumentProof of ServiceCertificate of Word Count
  22. Jul 26 2021
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due August 27, 2021)
    PetitionAppendixCertificate of Word CountProof of Service