Barrows v. Brinker Restaurant Corp.

On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York Savannah Barrows appeals the district court’s grant of defendant Brinker Restaurant Corporation’s motion to dismiss her claims (per Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6)), and to compel arbitration (per the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. §1, et seq.). The district court concluded that Barrows failed to raise any triable issue of fact as to the validity of her purported arbitration agreement with Brinker, and so granted Brinker’s motion. We VACATE the district court’s grant of Brinker’s motion to dismiss and to compel arbitration, and REMAND for the district court to consider the merits of Barrows’s claim further. GUIDO CALBRESI, C.J. A restaurant worker sued her former employer, alleging a variety of employment law violations. The restaurant moved to dismiss her suit and to compel arbitration. It supported this motion by presenting an arbitration agreement bearing what appeared to be the worker’s electronic signature. In a sworn declaration, however, the worker categorically and specifically denied that the signature was hers. She also pointed to other circumstantial evidence as to its inauthenticity. The district court (Sharpe, J.) concluded that the worker’s evidence was insufficient to create a triable issue of fact, and so granted the restaurant’s motion. Because that finding was erroneous, we VACATE the district court’s judgment and REMAND for further proceedings. BACKGROUND Starting in March 2015, Savannah Barrows worked at a Chili’s chain restaurant in Liverpool, New York. When she was hired, the restaurant was operated by Pepper Dining, Inc. (“PDI”). In June 2015, however, that Chili’s location was acquired by Brinker International Payroll Company, L.P. (“Brinker”).¹ In January 2019, Barrows’s employment with Brinker came to an end. She then sued Brinker, alleging that she and a putative class of similarly situated workers had suffered a variety of employment law violations.² Her suit was joined by one other named plaintiff, Michael Mendez, who began work at the same restaurant in 2017. Brinker responded by moving to dismiss the suit (per Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6)), and to compel arbitration (per the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), 9 U.S.C. §1 et seq.). The district court denied this motion with leave to renew, essentially because some of Brinker’s argument and evidence came only in its reply, thus preventing plaintiffs from responding. Brinker then filed a renewed motion to dismiss and compel arbitration, shifting its original reply material into its new opening brief. Its main supporting evidence against Barrows was a set of arbitration agreements and other related documents, each of which purportedly bore Barrows’s electronic signature. The record also showed that Brinker was the registered owner of the IP address of the computer on which the arbitration agreements and related documents were completed, suggesting that these were executed at the restaurant where Barrows worked. Further, Brinker’s timesheets showed that Barrows was working at the restaurant on the day the electronic signatures were affixed to the documents. Brinker further supported its renewed motion with the declaration of Brandon Loeffler, who assisted in overseeing and maintaining the company’s online employee onboarding system. Loeffler stated that the onboarding process, which required employees to sign various documents electronically, was completed on “Taleo” platform software. The first time a Brinker employee formerly employed with PDI used Taleo, she would have to log in with a temporary password comprised of her work location state, birth month, birth year, and the last four digits of her social security number. After this first login, Loeffler indicated, such users would create and use new, unique passwords. After doing so, they could use the Taleo platform to review and sign any number of electronic forms. And each time an employee wished to execute a document in Taleo via electronic signature, she would be required to retype her unique password. Brinker also produced the declaration of Joshua Planty, the restaurant’s general manager. Planty stated that “[a]ll [former] PDI employees,” such as himself and Barrows, “went through Brinker’s onboarding process in 2015.” App’x 186. Planty further averred that he had “never completed any onboarding documents for Plaintiff Barrows…or any other Team Member,” that he “never instructed any other manager to complete onboarding paperwork for Plaintiff Barrows…or any other Team Member,” and that it was his “understanding that if [he] ever created a username and/or password for a Team Member using their personal information or if [he] electronically signed onboarding documents on behalf of another Team Member without their authorization, that would be a serious violation of Company policy, for which [his] employment could be terminated.” Id. at 187. Daniel Michels, an assistant manager during Barrows’s employment, offered a nearly identical declaration: that he, and all former PDI employees, had completed Brinker’s onboarding process and “signed [an] Agreement to Arbitrate electronically through the Taleo system”; that he had never filled out anyone else’s onboarding documents on their behalf; that he had never instructed any other manager to do so; and that he understood that it would have been considered serious misconduct if he had done so. Id. at 200-01. Finally, Shawn Hand, also an assistant manager, offered essentially the same statements as Planty and Michels.³ In addition to these declarations, Brinker also produced a paper arbitration agreement that Mendez, the other named plaintiff, had signed by hand in 2017. Based on this document, Mendez concedes that his individual claims were arbitrable. See Appellants’ Br. at 7 n.3. Brinker produced no such hand-signed agreement for Barrows. Barrows, for her part, opposed Brinker’s renewed motion to dismiss with a sworn declaration in which she adamantly, and categorically, denied having electronically signed any arbitration agreement. Specifically, she stated she had never: Completed any electronic employment paperwork for PDI during her initial hiring (but instead completed all paperwork at that time by hand); Completed any additional employment paperwork, of any kind, after Brinker took over, or at any time after her initial hiring; Used any of her employer’s computers at the Chili’s store for any purpose;⁴ Accessed Chili’s website, electronic systems, or any of its “intranet” sites, except to watch training videos on a cellphone app; Heard of, accessed, or had any username or password for accessing, the Taleo system; Saw or signed the arbitration agreement; Received, or signed any document showing receipt of, Brinker’s policies and procedures; or Owned, or lived in a house with, a computer while employed at Chili’s. App’x 243-45. Ultimately, the district court granted Brinker’s motion and dismissed Barrows’s suit. See Barrows v. Brinker Rest. Corp., No. 19-cv-144, 2021 WL 638271, at *2-3 (N.D.N.Y. Feb. 18, 2021). This appeal followed. DISCUSSION In considering an order compelling arbitration, we review de novo whether the parties have contractually bound themselves to arbitrate, and review for clear error the factual findings supporting that conclusion. See Meyer v. Uber Techs., Inc., 868 F.3d 66, 72-73 (2d Cir. 2017). Because motions to compel arbitration are governed by a standard “similar to that applicable for a motion for summary judgment,” a court must “draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party.” Nicosia v. Amazon.com, Inc., 834 F.3d 220, 229 (2d Cir. 2016).⁵ And if there is a disputed question of material fact, such that “the making of the arbitration agreement…[is] in issue,” then “the court shall proceed summarily to the trial thereof.” 9 U.S.C. §4; see Bensadoun v. Jobe-Riat, 316 F.3d 171, 175 (2d Cir. 2003).⁶ Where parties are bound to an arbitration agreement, courts are instructed to favor arbitration as a form of dispute resolution. See 9 U.S.C. §2; New York v. Oneida Indian Nation of N.Y., 90 F.3d 58, 61 (2d Cir. 1996). But on the antecedent question of whether the parties actually agreed to arbitration (that is, whether an arbitration agreement between them exists at all), we show no such special solicitude. See Opals on Ice Lingerie v. Bodylines Inc., 320 F.3d 362, 369 (2d Cir. 2003). Instead, we resolve such agreement-formation questions as we would most any contract dispute: by applying the law of the state at issue (which, as the parties here agree, is that of New York). See Schnabel v. Trilegiant Corp., 697 F.3d 110, 119 (2d Cir. 2012). And under New York law, unsurprisingly, parties that have not agreed to arbitrate claims may not be forced to do so. See TNS Holdings, Inc. v. MKI Sec. Corp., 703 N.E.2d 749, 751 (N.Y. 1998); Marlene Indus. Corp. v. Carnac Textiles, Inc., 380 N.E.2d 239, 242 (N.Y. 1978). When moving to compel arbitration, “[t]he party seeking…arbitration bears an initial burden of demonstrating that an agreement to arbitrate was made.” Hines v. Overstock.com, Inc., 380 F. App’x 22, 24 (2d Cir. 2010) (summary order). But “[t]his burden does not require the moving party to show initially that the agreement would be enforceable, merely that one existed.” Id. Brinker produced an arbitration agreement that appears to bear Barrows’s electronic signature, and thereby cleared this bar. Accordingly, the burden shifted to Barrows, who needed to counter with at least “some evidence…to substantiate [her] denial” that an agreement had been made. Interocean Shipping Co. v. Nat’l Shipping & Trading Corp., 462 F.2d 673, 676 (2d Cir. 1972) (emphasis added) (explaining that, to create a genuine issue for trial, a nonmovant must make an unequivocal denial and substantiate it with some evidence); accord Sphere Drake Ins. Ltd. v. Clarendon Nat. Ins. Co., 263 F.3d 26, 30 (2d Cir. 2001). In considering whether Barrows met this burden, the district court completely discounted the evidentiary value of her sworn declaration. See Barrows, 2021 WL 638271, at *3 (“Although Barrows makes unequivocal denials that she saw or electronically signed the arbitration agreement, ([citation to Barrows's declaration]), she has produced no evidence to substantiate these denials….”) (emphasis added). That approach was incorrect. In reviewing motions to compel arbitration, just as for motions for summary judgment, a court must “consider all relevant, admissible evidence submitted by the parties and contained in pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with affidavits.” Nicosia, 834 F.3d at 229 (emphases added). And in reviewing this broad set of materials, “[t]here is nothing…to suggest that nonmovants’ affidavits alone cannot — as a matter of law — suffice to defend against” such a motion. Danzer v. Norden Sys., Inc., 151 F.3d 50, 57 (2d Cir. 1998); see also Bellamy v. City of New York, 914 F.3d 727, 746 (2d Cir. 2019) (“Contrary to the district court’s analysis, a…plaintiff’s testimony alone may be independently sufficient to raise a genuine issue of material fact.”); Rentas v. Ruffin, 816 F.3d 214, 221 (2d Cir. 2016) (“At summary judgment, [plaintiff] was entitled to rely on his own testimony” to defeat defendant’s motion). Indeed, “[t]o hold…that the nonmovant’s allegations of fact are (because ‘self-serving’) insufficient to fend off” a motion to compel arbitration “would be to thrust the courts — at an inappropriate stage — into an adjudication of the merits.” Danzer, 151 F.3d at 57.⁷ For this reason, the district court erred when it disregarded Barrows’s sworn declaration as “nothing more than a de facto extension of [her] pleadings.” Id. Of course, the fact that a party’s declaration can defeat a motion to compel arbitration does not mean it always will. Where a party merely states that she cannot recall signing an agreement (as opposed to denying she has done so), such a declaration ordinarily fails to create a triable issue of fact. See F.D.I.C. v. Nat’l Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, PA, 205 F.3d 66, 75 (2d Cir. 2000); see also, e.g., Gonder v. Dollar Tree Stores, Inc., 144 F. Supp. 3d 522, 528 (S.D.N.Y. 2015). Likewise, where “the facts alleged” in a nonmovant’s declaration “are so contradictory that doubt is cast upon their plausibility,” then absent other evidence, granting the motion to compel may be appropriate. Rojas v. Roman Cath. Diocese of Rochester, 660 F.3d 98, 106 (2d Cir. 2011) (per curiam). Further, a party “normally does not show the existence of a genuine issue of fact…merely by making assertions that are based on speculation or are conclusory.” S. Katzman Produce Inc. v. Yazid, 999 F.3d 867, 877 (2d Cir. 2021). And of course, a party’s declaration will not create a material issue of fact in those rare cases where it is “blatantly contradicted by the record, so that no reasonable jury could believe it” (as when a plaintiff’s declaration statements are directly refuted by undisputed video evidence). Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372, 380 (2007); Jingrong v. Chinese Anti-Cult World All. Inc., 16 F.4th 47, 57 (2d Cir. 2021). Barrows’s declaration had none of these flaws. In specific and exacting terms, and under penalty of perjury, she categorically denied ever completing any electronic paperwork for either PDI or for Brinker; using any of her employer’s computers at her workplace; receiving or signing any documents showing receipt of Brinker’s arbitration policies; using the Taleo system; hearing about or having any knowledge of the Taleo system; or, while employed by Brinker, owning, or even living in a home with, any computer whatsoever. This detailed accounting, submitted under oath, is surely “some evidence” that she did not agree to arbitration.⁸ Further, we note specifically that this is not a case where Barrows’s declaration was “blatantly contradicted” by undisputed evidence from elsewhere in the record. Scott, 550 U.S. at 380. While Brinker’s declarants attest that a Taleo user’s password and account are secure once they are up and running, they also admit that initiating a new account requires only some standard employee information: “work location state; birth month; birth year; and the last four digits of [a worker's] social security number.” App’x 218. As Barrows observes, moreover, even her standard I-9 form, which she completed for Brinker’s predecessor, would give an employer ready access to exactly such information (and, by extension, the ability to set up an account and sign forms on Barrows’s behalf).⁹ Likewise, the fact that an IP address on the onboarding documents suggests the Taleo agreements were ostensibly executed from a computer at the restaurant where Barrows worked (and on a day she was on premises) proves much less than Brinker suggests. Certainly, one might infer from the time and place of execution that the electronic signature could be authentic. But the fact that the signature came from a device that Brinker owned and possessed (rather than, say, Barrows’s home computer),¹⁰ might also lead one to infer that Brinker’s agents, and not Barrows, were the ones who signed the documents (an inference which, at this motion-to-compel stage, we must draw). Brinker’s position is further undercut by its production of Mendez’s paper, hand-signed arbitration agreement. That document, executed the same day that Mendez purportedly also signed his electronic Taleo agreement, casts doubt on Brinker’s suggestions that all of its employees must have completed such electronic paperwork. And of course, it also raises the question of why Brinker was able to produce a hand-signed agreement for Mendez, but not Barrows.¹¹ Combined, this evidence makes clear that Barrows has created a triable issue of fact as to the validity of the signature on her electronic Taleo arbitration agreements. Finally, Brinker offers the alternative argument (not reached by the district court) that under New York law, a party can manifest assent to a contract, including an arbitration agreement, by continuing to work after being made aware of the agreement, even if she never actually signs it. See Maas v. Cornell Univ., 721 N.E.2d 966, 969-70 (N.Y. 1999) (discussing “implied-in-fact” contracts); see also Manigault v. Macy’s E., LLC, 318 F. App’x 6, 8 (2d Cir. 2009) (summary order). The problem for Brinker, though, is that such course-of-conduct cases require, at a minimum, that an employee have received the agreement (or otherwise had the chance to learn of the agreement’s existence). Cf. Pettersen v. Volcano Corp., No. 18-cv-03021, 2020 WL 6323937, at *6 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 8, 2020), report and recommendation adopted, 2020 WL 6323122 (E.D.N.Y. Oct. 27, 2020). And at this stage, the only evidence that Barrows received or was given direct notice of the arbitration agreement’s terms comes from a Taleo notice of receipt, App’x 57, a document that was purportedly electronically signed in the same manner, and on the same day, as the arbitration agreements themselves (that is, via the same electronic signature that Barrows, categorically and by affidavit, denies making). Cf. Boykin, 3 F.4th at 844 (rejecting analogous argument that employee’s continued employment sufficiently manifested assent to electronic arbitration agreement because employee’s affidavit swore he had no awareness of agreement’s existence and employer “offered no other evidence showing that [the employee] learned of this arbitration condition in other ways”).¹² Accordingly, and drawing all inferences in Barrows’s favor (as, at this stage, we must), there is a triable issue of fact as to whether she ever received, or became aware of, Brinker’s arbitration agreements, regardless of whether she ultimately signed them. None of this is to say, of course, that Barrows’s declaration, or her account of events is, in fact, accurate. At this stage, we do not know. But in deciding a motion to compel arbitration, as for a summary judgment motion, “a court must not weigh the evidence, or assess the credibility of witnesses, or resolve issues of fact.” Kulak v. City of New York, 88 F.3d 63, 71 (2d Cir. 1996). And to the extent this case turns on Barrows’s (and on Brinker’s) credibility or trustworthiness, the place to sort it out is, as the FAA provides, at “trial.” 9 U.S.C. §4. CONCLUSION We VACATE the district court’s grant of the defendant’s motion to dismiss and to compel arbitration, and REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.