STIPULATION AND ORDER FOR BINDING ARBITRATION AND STAY OF ACTION PENDING ARBITRATION

CLASS ACTION

TROY L. NUNLEY, District Judge.

STIPULATION

This stipulation is made by and between plaintiff Matthew Hoffman ("Plaintiff") and defendant Comcast Cable Communications Management, LLC ("Comcast") (collectively, the "Parties"), through their respective counsel of record, with reference to the following facts:

WHEREAS, in connection with his employment with Comcast, Plaintiff entered into an arbitration agreement in which he agreed to pursue any employment-related claims in arbitration on an individual basis and to waive class claims;

WHEREAS, Plaintiff filed a complaint in San Joaquin County Superior Court on October 22, 2018, alleging individual and class claims based on alleged violations of the California Labor Code;

WHEREAS, Plaintiff filed a first amended complaint in San Joaquin County Superior Court on December 28, 2018, in which he added a seventh cause of action under the Private Attorneys General Act ("PAGA"), by which Plaintiff seeks to recover civil penalties based on the same alleged violations of the California Labor Code that support his individual and class claims;

WHEREAS Defendant filed a Notice of Removal of Action on January 9, 2019, to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California;

WHEREAS, the parties, through counsel, met and conferred and have agreed to dismiss the class claims without prejudice and resolve Plaintiff's individual claims in a binding, individual arbitration proceeding in accordance with the terms of the arbitration agreement entered into by Plaintiff1; and

WHEREAS, in the interest of avoiding duplicative efforts and potentially wasteful litigation, the parties request that this lawsuit, pursuing only the remaining PAGA claim, be stayed pending resolution of the arbitration given the overlap between Plaintiff's individual claims and his PAGA claim. See, e.g., Anderson v. Safe Streets USA LLC, 2018 WL 4106135, at *12 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 28, 2018) (staying PAGA claim pending arbitration because plaintiff "claims a status as an aggrieved employee that relies on the same injuries giving rise to his non-PAGA claims"); Borelli v. Black Diamond Aggregates, Inc., 2017 WL 1063564, at *12 (E.D. Cal. Mar. 21, 2017) (same).

THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED, by and between the Parties, through their counsel of record, as follows:

1. Plaintiff's individual claims in this action shall be resolved through final and binding arbitration on an individual basis pursuant to the terms of the arbitration agreement;

2. Plaintiff will dismiss all of his claims without prejudice except his claim for civil penalties under PAGA; and

3. The lawsuit shall be stayed, and all dates set in the Court's Initial Pretrial Scheduling Order vacated, pending completion of the arbitration.

IT IS SO STIPULATED.

ORDER

Pursuant to the Stipulation of the parties, and good cause appearing, IT IS SO ORDERED.