Defendant employer waived its right to compel arbitration in this wage and hour class action by first filing and then withdrawing a motion to compel arbitration before class certification, and then litigating the case for four years before filing a new motion to compel arbitration after the class was certified. While it might be true that defendant had to wait until after certification to compel arbitration against class members, it could have compelled arbitration against the named plaintiff from the outset. And the trial court was justified in finding the employer’s excuses for not compelling arbitration earlier unconvincing, particularly as the employer waited a year after the law in this area was clarified before moving to compel arbitration.
California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 1 (Lui, J.); August 23, 2017; 2017 WL 3614265