UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE AT KNOXVILLE

CAROL A. COOPER, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) No.: 3:24-CV-505-KAC-DCP ) BUC-EE’S TENNESSEE, II, LLC, ) ) Defendant. )

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

This action is before the Court on the Parties’ “Joint Motion to Stay Pending Arbitration” [Doc. 26], in which they request an order (1) “staying the present matter until” the Parties voluntarily arbitrate “the disputes between Cooper and Buc-ee’s” and (2) “den[ying] as moot without prejudice” “all pending [m]otions” [See id. at 2, 3]. Plaintiff asserts various claims against Defendant as a former employee of Defendant [See id. at 1-2]. But “[e]arlier this month,” Plaintiff indicated that she “would agree to pursue arbitration in Tennessee, and that [she] voluntarily chooses to proceed with arbitration in this” action [See id. at 2]. The Parties state that (1) Defendant could not compel Plaintiff to arbitrate her claims; (2) despite Plaintiff’s claims not normally being amenable to arbitration, the Parties agree that this action should proceed to arbitration; (3) the arbitration shall proceed “under the American Arbitration Association’s Employment Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures;” and (4) the Parties “have selected an arbitrator to arbitrate the case in Knoxville, Tennessee” [See id. at 2-3]. Because the Parties voluntarily agree to arbitrate this dispute, the Court GRANTS the “Joint Motion to Stay Pending Arbitration” without opposition [Doc. 26]. See E.D. Tenn. L.R. 7.2. The Court STAYS this action pending the conclusion of arbitration. All hearings and deadlines are STAYED. Within fourteen (14) days of the conclusion of arbitration, the Parties SHALL NOTIFY the Court of the outcome of the proceedings. Additionally, the Parties SHALL file a status report within six (6) months of the entry of this Order and at three-month intervals thereafter until the arbitration proceedings conclude. Failure to timely file the required reports will result in the dismissal of this action under Rule 41(b) for failure to comply with a Court Order. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b); see also Schafer v. City of Defiance Police Dep’t,

(6th Cir. 2008) (citation omitted) (noting that Rule 41(b) “confers on district courts the authority to dismiss an action for failure of a plaintiff to... comply with the Rules or any order of the court”). Further, because the Parties agree as a condition of their agreement to arbitrate that “all pending [m]otions shall be denied as moot and without prejudice,” [see Doc. 26 at 3], the Court denies all pending motions as moot without prejudice to refile, [see Docs. 11, 13]. Specifically, the Court DENIES Defendant’s “Motion to Dismiss” [Doc. 11] and “Motion to Strike Plaintiff's Jury Demand” [Doc. 13] as moot without prejudice. The Court DIRECTS the Clerk to administratively close this case. SO ORDERED. Cte Or United States District Judge