Davarci v. Uber Techs.

SANCAK DAVARCI and JOSEPH CHAMBERS, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. UBER TECHNOLOGIES, INC., Defendant

Civ. A. No. 20-CV-9224-VEC

United States District Court, S.D. New York

September 20, 2021

ORAL ARGUMENT REQUESTED

SANCAK DAVARCI AND JOSEPH CHAMBERS, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated,

By their attorneys,

Shannon Liss-Riordan, NY Bar No. 2971927 Tara Boghosian, pro hac vice anticipated LICHTEN & LISS-RIORDAN, P.C.

PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR CERTIFICATION OF ISSUES FOR INTERLOCUTORY APPEAL PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 1292(B)

HON VALERIE CAPRONI UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Table of Content

I. INTRODUCTION . . . .1

II BACKGROUND.....6

III ARGUMENT....7

A. Whether Plaintiffs' Claims Can Be Compelled to Arbitration under the FAA, or Alternatively New York Law, Constitute Controlling Issues of Law ....7

B. There Is Substantial Ground for Difference in Opinion Regarding Whether Rideshare Drivers (1) Fall under FAA Section 1 and (2) Can Be Alternatively Compelled under New York law to Arbitrate Their Claims ......................................... 10

C. Allowing an Immediate Appeal from this Court's Order Will “Materially Advance the Ultimate Termination of the Litigation” by Resolving this Issue Before the Parties Have Already Engaged in Arbitration......................................................................... 12

IV. CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................13

Table of Authorities

Cases

Am. Geophysical Union v. Texaco, Inc. 802 F.Supp. 1, 30 (S.D.N.Y. 1992) ....12

Brown v. Bullock 294 F.2d 415, 417 (2d. Cir. 1961)...................................................................................8, 12

Capitol Records, LLC v. Vimeo, LLC 2013 WL 6869648, at *10 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 31, 2013) ........................................................ 13

Coopers & Lybrand v. Livesay 437 U.S. 463, 475 (1978) ...................................................................................................... 10

Cunningham v. Lyft, Inc. 450 F.Supp.3d 37, 46 (D. Mass. 2020) ........................................................................ 8, 13

Epic Sys. Corp. v. Lewis 138 S.Ct. 1612 (2018) .......................................................................................................... 15

Feeney v. Dell Inc. 454 Mass. 192 (Mass. 2009) ................................................................................................ 14

Feeney v. Dell, Inc. 454 Mass. 192 (2009) .............................................................................................................. 6

Fiser v. Dell Computer Corp. 144 N.M. 464 (N.M. 2008) .................................................................................................... 14

Gentry v. Superior Court 165 P.3d 556 (Cal. 2007) ...................................................................................................... 14

Gold v. New York Life Ins. Co. 153 A.D.3d 216, 221 (1st Dept. 2017) ................................................................................ 15

Harper v. Amazon.com Services, Inc 2021 WL 4075350 *6 (3rd Cir. 2021) .................................................................................... 5

Hartford Acc. and Indem. Co. v. Village of Hempstead 48 N.Y.2d 218, 222 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1979) ........................................................................... 12

Herron v. Century BMW 387 S.C. 525 (S.C. 2010) ...................................................................................................... 14

In re Del-Val Financial Corp. Securities Litigation 874 F.Supp. 81, 83 (S.D.N.Y. 1995) .................................................................................. 10

Islam v. Lyft, Inc. 2021 WL 2651653 (S.D.N.Y. June 28, 2021) ................................................................ 4, 11

Katz v. Cellco Partnership 794 F.3d 341 (2d Cir. 2015) ................................................................................................... 6

Kinkel v. Cingular Wireless LLC 223 Ill.2d 1 (Ill. 2006) ............................................................................................................ 14

Klein v. Vision Lab Telecommunications, Inc. 399 F.Supp.2d 528, 537 (S.D.N.Y. 2005) ...................................................................... 8, 1

Klinghoffer v. S. N.C. Achille Lauro Ed Altri-Gestione Motonave Achille Lauro in Amministrazione Straordinaria 921 F.2d 21, 24 (2d. Cir. 1990) ........................................................................................ 8, 10

Kuehner v. Dickinson & Co. 84 F.3d 316, 319 (9th Cir. 1996) ...................................................................................... 8, 16

Laurent v. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 2014 WL 251986, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 22, 2014) ............................................................ 12

Lee v. Postmates Inc. 2019 WL 1864442 (N.D. Cal. Apr. 25, 2019) ................................................................. 7, 11

Leonard v. Terminix Intern. Co., L.P. 854 So.2d 529 (Ala. 2002) ................................................................................................... 14

Lewis v Epic Sys. Corp. 823 F.3d 1147 (7th Cir 2016), rev'd sub nom ..................................................................... 15

Machado v. System4 LLC 465 Mass. 508 (2013) .............................................................................................................. 6

McKenzie Check Advance of Florida, LLC v. Betts 112 So.3d 1176 (Fla. 2013) ................................................................................................. 14

Picardi v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court of State, ex rel. County of Clark 127 Nev. 106 (Nv. 2011) ....................................................................................................... 14

Plofsky v. Giuliano 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43565, *12 (D. Conn. May 20, 2009) ...................................... 8, 16

Schwartz v. Alltel Corp. 2006 WL 2243649 (Ohio Ct. App. June 29, 2006) ............................................................ 14

Scott v. Cingular Wireless 160 Wash.2d 843 (Wash. 2007) ......................................................................................... 14

State ex rel. Dunlap v. Berger 211 W.Va. 549 (Va. 2002) ................................................................................................... 14

Tantaros v. Fox News Network, LLC. 465 F.Supp.3d. 385, 390 (S.D.N.Y. 2020) ...................................................................... 11

Tillman v. Commercial Credit Loans, Inc. 362 N.C. 93 (N.C. 2008) ....................................................................................................... 14

Vasquez-Lopez v. Beneficial Oregon, Inc. 210 Or.App. 553 (Or.App. Ct. 2007) ................................................................................. 14

Waithaka v. Amazon.com, Inc. 966 F.3d 10, 33 (1st Cir. 2020) ............................................................................................. 5

Whitney v. Alltel Commc'ns, Inc. 173 S.W.3d 30 (Mo. App. 2005) .......................................................................................... 14

Wisconsin Auto Title Loans, Inc. v. Jones 290 Wis.2d 514 (Wis. 2006) ................................................................................................ 14

Statutes

28 U.S.C. § 1292(b) ........................................................................................................... 1, 7, 14

794 F.3d at 344 ............................................................................................................................ 4

Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), 9 U.S.C. § 1 .......................................................................... 1

FRCP 23 ........................................................................................................................................ 6

NYCRR §500.27(a) ...................................................................................................................... 3

I. INTRODUCTION

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b), Plaintiffs move for certification of an interlocutory appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals of this Court's August 20, 2021 Order compelling Plaintiffs' claims to arbitration. The issues that Plaintiffs seek leave to appeal are narrow. The first issue is whether Plaintiffs are “engaged in interstate commerce” and thus fall within the Section 1 transportation worker exemption of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq. The second issue is whether arbitration agreements with class action waivers are enforceable under New York law, absent the FAA's preemptive effect. Both issues meet 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b)'s requirements for interlocutory appeal, as these issues involve (1) “controlling question[s] of law, ” (2) “as to which there is substantial ground for difference of opinion, ” and (3) where “an immediate appeal from the order may materially advance the ultimate termination of the litigation.”

Indeed, in Islam v. Lyft, Inc., Judge Abrams recently certified the same Section 1 exemption issue for interlocutory appeal on June 28, 2021, along with a different issue regarding enforceability of Lyft's arbitration clause under state law. 2021 WL 2651653 (S.D.N.Y. June 28, 2021).

Plaintiffs seek certification of this Court's Order compelling arbitration so that Plaintiffs may also provide argument to the Second Circuit as it considers the FAA Section 1 issue. See Islam, 2021 WL 2651653 *6 (“The Court's conclusion that an...