By: Derek Hawkins//July 24, 2017//
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Case Name: Anne E. Scheurer v. Fromm Family Foods LLC
Case No.: 16-3327
Officials: KANNE, SYKES, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.
Focus: Motion Denied – Arbitration
Plaintiff Anne Scheurer filed this sexual harassment and retaliation suit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 against defendant Fromm Family Foods. During discovery, Fromm learned that Scheurer’s contract with the staffing agency that employed her and directed her to Fromm included an arbitration clause. Fromm moved to compel arbitration. The district court denied the motion. Such a denial is immediately appealable under the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 16(a)(1)(B), and Fromm has appealed. We affirm.
The question is whether employer Fromm, which did not have a written arbitration agreement with Scheurer, can enforce against her the arbitration clause in her agreement with the staffing agency. This question is governed by state law, in this case, Wisconsin law. See Arthur Andersen LLP v. Carlisle, 556 U.S. 624, 630–31 (2009). We agree with the district court that Fromm has not shown a legal basis for compelling Scheurer to arbitrate her Title VII claim against Fromm. We first review the factual and procedural background leading to this appeal. We then examine Fromm’s only theory for compelling arbitration that it has not waived.
Affirmed