United States Ninth Circuit

In a wage claim suit brought by three employees against their employer-cruise ship operator, grant of employer's motion to compel arbitration is affirmed over their claim that federal statutes exempt their employment contracts from the scope of Title 9 of the United States Code where: 1) plaintiffs' employment contracts are "considered as commercial" under Title 9; and 2) thus, the arbitration provisions contained in their employment contracts are enforceable.

Appellate Information

• Argued 05/05/2008
• Decided 11/06/2008
• Published 11/06/2008

Judges

• WILLIAM A. FLETCHER, Circuit Judge:, Before:  JOHN T. NOONAN, W. FLETCHER, and RONALD M. GOULD, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Joseph S. Farzam, Law Offices of Joseph F. Farzam & Associates, Los Angeles, CA, for the appellants., Jeffrey Robert White, Washington, D.C., David W. Brill, Downs Brill Whitehead, Pembroke Pines, FL, for amicus curiae American Association for Justice., Paul Giannini, Law Office of Paul Giannini, Los Angeles, CA, for amicus curiae Seafarer Benefit Foundation.


• For Appellees:
  
• Sanford L. Bohrer;  Scott D. Ponce, Holland & Knight, Miami, FL;  Paul C. Workman, Holland & Knight, Los Angeles, CA, for the appellee.