11th Circuit Compels Arbitration Pursuant to Incorporated Collective Bargaining Agreement
11th Circuit Compels Arbitration Pursuant to Incorporated Collective Bargaining Agreement
By: Amanda Huff
Edited by: Molly MacKenzie
Vera v. Cruise Ships Catering & Servs. Intern., No. 14-12494, 2014 WL 6790710 (11 Cir. Dec. 3, 2014).The Plaintiff, a steward aboard the cruise ship M/V Costa Atlantica, initially sued the cruise service company in Florida state court for Jones Act negligence, unseaworthiness, maintenance and cure, and failure to retreat. The Defendants removed the case to federal court and filed a motion to compel arbitration in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement between the cruise service company and the Plaintiff’s trade union. The district court enforced the agreement and compelled the Plaintiff to proceed with arbitration.On appeal, the Plaintiff first argued that there was no arbitration agreement in his employment contract and that the collective bargaining agreement to which he was a party was insufficient because he did not sign it and it did not include the claims he asserted against the Defendants. The court found this argument to be without merit because the collective bargaining agreement was incorporated by reference into the Plaintiff’s employment contract, and thus satisfied the jurisdictional writing requirement under the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (“the Convention”). Furthermore, the collective bargaining agreement specifically covered leave, rest periods, and medical care.Second, the Plaintiff argued as an affirmative defense under the Convention that the arbitration agreement was against public policy and should therefore be unenforceable. Specifically, the Plaintiff contended that enforcing the arbitration agreement would deprive him of statutory claims he would have under American law as a citizen of a foreign nation. The court cast aside this contention because a public policy challenge can only be brought at the enforcement stage.The 11th Circuit affirmed the district court’s order to compel arbitration of the issues.
