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Hamrick v. Partsfleet, LLC

Hamrick v. Partsfleet, LLC

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

June 22, 2021, Decided

No. 19-13339

Opinion

 [*1340]  LUCK, Circuit Judge:

] The Federal Arbitration Act does not "apply to contracts of employment of seamen, railroad employees, or any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce." 9 U.S.C. § 1. This "exemption, " we've said, excludes from the reach of the Federal Arbitration Act [**2]  employees who are in a class of workers: (1) employed in the transportation industry; and (2) that, in the main, actually engages in interstate commerce. See Hill v. Rent-A-Center, Inc., 398 F.3d 1286, 1290 (11th Cir. 2005). The issue in this case is whether (despite agreeing to arbitrate any dispute with their employer) final-mile delivery drivers—drivers who make local deliveries of goods and materials that have been shipped from out-of-state to a local warehouse—are in a "class of workers engaged in foreign and interstate commerce" and, thus, exempt under the Federal Arbitration Act from having to arbitrate their Fair Labor Standards Act claims. The district court concluded that they were exempt and refused to compel them to arbitrate their claims under the Federal Arbitration Act. But the district court misapplied Hill and wrongly determined that the exemption applied. We reverse the part of the district court's order denying the employer's motion to compel arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act and remand for the court to determine whether the drivers are in a class of workers employed in the transportation industry and whether the class, in general, is actually engaged in foreign or interstate commerce.

The district court also denied [**3]  the employer's motion to compel arbitration under state arbitration law. The employer tries to appeal this part of the district court's order but the order is interlocutory. ] There's no exception to the final order rule for orders denying motions to compel arbitration under state law. And the district court's ruling on the state law issue is not inextricably intertwined with—or necessary to ensure meaningful review of—the applicability of the Federal Arbitration Act in order to invoke our pendent appellate jurisdiction. Because we do not have appellate jurisdiction over this part of the order, we dismiss this part of the appeal.

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1 F.4th 1337 *; 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 18488 **; 28 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C 3095

CURTIS HAMRICK, on behalf of himself and those similarly situated, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus PARTSFLEET, LLC, a Florida Limited Liability Company, PARTSFLEET II, LLC, a Florida Limited Liability Company, FLEETGISTICS HOLDINGS, LLC, a Foreign Limited Liability Company, SCRIPTFLEET, LLC, a Florida Limited Liability Company, US PACK SERVICES, LLC, a Foreign Limited Liability Company, MEDIFLEET, LLC, a Foreign Limited Liability Company, US PACK HOLDINGS, LLC, a Foreign Limited Liability Company, Defendants-Appellants.

Prior History:  [**1] Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. D.C. Docket No. 6:19-cv-00137-WWB-DCI.

Hamrick v. Partsfleet, LLC, 411 F. Supp. 3d 1298, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 206729, 2019 WL 6317250 (M.D. Fla., Aug. 15, 2019)

Disposition: REVERSED AND REMANDED IN PART WITH INSTRUCTIONS and DISMISSED IN PART.

CORE TERMS

Arbitration, exemption, transportation, drivers, interstate commerce, district court, commerce, arbitration law, transportation industry, arbitration provision, appellate jurisdiction, employment contract, interstate, words, delivery, compel arbitration, independent contractor, railroad employee, arbitration agreement, pendent, motion to compel arbitration, engaged in commerce, nonappealable, deliver, parties, state law, warehouses, engages, part of the district, interlocutory

Admiralty & Maritime Law, Arbitration, Federal Arbitration Act, Business & Corporate Compliance, Federal Arbitration Act, Arbitration Agreements, Transportation Law, Interstate Commerce, Arbitration, Scope, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Arbitrability, Orders to Compel Arbitration, Pretrial Matters, Validity of ADR Methods, Contracts Law, Contract Conditions & Provisions, Arbitration Clauses, Labor & Employment Law, Conditions & Terms, Arbitration Provisions, Enforcement, Judicial Review, Civil Procedure, Appeals, Standards of Review, Clearly Erroneous Review, De Novo Review, Intrastate Commerce, Governments, Legislation, Interpretation, Appellate Jurisdiction, Interlocutory Orders, Appellate Jurisdiction, Final Judgment Rule