MINER v. ECOLAB INC (2018)

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

Doug MINER, an individual, on behalf of himself and other persons similarly situated, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. ECOLAB, INC., a Delaware corporation, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 17-56183

Decided: November 30, 2018

Before: CANBY, TASHIMA, and FRIEDLAND, Circuit Judges.

Alejandro Pedro Gutierrez, Esquire, Attorney, Hathaway, Perrett, Webster, Powers, Chrisman, & Gutierrez, Ventura, CA, Brian D. Hefelfinger, Attorney, Palay & Hefelfinger, APC, Ventura, CA, Aris Edmund Karakalos, Attorney, Michael Strauss, Esquire, Attorney, Strauss & Strauss, APC, Ventura, CA, for Plaintiff-Appellee Peder Kristian Batalden, Esquire, Attorney, Felix Shafir, John Arthur Taylor, Jr., Esquire, Attorney, Horvitz & Levy LLP, Burbank, CA, Carlos Jimenez, Littler Mendelson, Los Angeles, CA, Jody Ann Landry, Attorney, Littler Mendelson, P.C., San Diego, CA, John Anthony Ybarra, Attorney, Littler Mendelson, P.C., Chicago, IL, for Defendant-Appellant

MEMORANDUM **

Ecolab, Inc. appeals from the district court's order denying its motion to compel arbitration of federal and state wage-and-hour claims brought by an employee in a putative class and collective action. We have jurisdiction under 9 U.S.C. § 16. We review de novo the district court's denial of arbitration. Poublon v. C.H. Robinson Co., 846 F.3d 1251, 1259 (9th Cir. 2017). We vacate and remand.

The district court denied Ecolab's motion to compel arbitration on the ground that the parties’ arbitration agreement contained a class and collective action waiver, making the agreement to arbitrate unenforceable under Morris v. Ernst & Young, LLP, 834 F.3d 975 (9th Cir. 2016). After the district court entered its order, the Supreme Court overruled Morris, and held that such agreements do not violate the National Labor Relations Act and must be enforced as written under the Federal Arbitration Act. See Epic Sys. Corp. v. Lewis, ––– U.S. ––––, 138 S.Ct. 1612, 1632, 200 L.Ed.2d 889 (2018).

We vacate the district court's order denying Ecolab's motion to compel arbitration and remand for further proceedings in light of Epic Systems Corporation.

The parties shall bear their own costs on appeal.

VACATED and REMANDED.

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