Navarro v. Charlie Thomas Chevrolet, Ltd.
Navarro v. Charlie Thomas Chevrolet, Ltd.
Opinion of the Court
ORDER TO PROCEED TO ARBITRATION AND ORDER OF DISMISSAL OF CASE
Among other motions pending are Defendant Charlie Thomas Chevrolet, Ltd. d/b/a AutoNation Mitsubishi’s (“AutoNation”) Motion to Compel Arbitration and for Stay or Dismissal of Litigation (Document No. 8), to which Plaintiff is unopposed,
On March 21, 2014, Plaintiff Christian Navarro (“Plaintiff’) purchased a used 2007 Honda Civic from AutoNation.
Any claim or dispute, whether in contract, tort, statute or otherwise ... between you and us or our employees, agents, successors or assigns, which arises out of or relates to your credit application, purchase condition of this vehicle, this contract or any resulting transaction or relationship (including any such relationship with third parties who do not sign this contract) shall, at your or our election, be resolved by neutral, binding arbitration and not by a court action.5
At the scheduling conference on June 19, 2015, American acknowledged that it is bound by the Sales Contract.
Plaintiff alleges that when he purchased the vehicle, AutoNation told him it had 92,687 miles on it, but Plaintiff soon had trouble with the engine, which he discovered had been taken from a salvage car and had over 138,438 miles on it, voiding his remaining warranty.
AutoNation moves to compel arbitration based on the Arbitration Clause and to stay or dismiss this suit.
Under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”),
It is undisputed that Plaintiff and Auto-Nation agreed to the Arbitration Clause, that American as assignee of AutoNation’s rights in the Sales Contract is bound by the Arbitration Clause, that the Arbitration Clause is valid, and that the parties’ dispute is within the scope of the Arbitration Clause. Based on these undisputed facts, Plaintiff agrees that AutoNation’s Motion to Compel Arbitration should be granted. Although American opposes Plaintiffs motion voluntarily to dismiss his suit, arguing that Plaintiff waived his right to arbitrate, American has filed no opposition to AutoNation’s motion to “compel the parties to arbitration, [and to] stay or dismiss the pending litigation.”
To the extent that Plaintiffs motion voluntarily to dismiss his complaint and proceed to arbitration is not merely duplicative of AutoNation’s motion, it too should be granted. See Elbaor v. Tripath Imaging, Inc., 279 F.3d 314, 317 (5th Cir. 2002) (“[A]s a general rule, motions for voluntary dismissal should be freely granted unless the non-moving party will suffer some plain legal prejudice other than the mere prospect of a second lawsuit.”).
Accordingly, because this dispute is subject to the Arbitration Clause in the Sales Contract that binds all parties, it should be submitted to arbitration in accordance with the contract,
ORDERED that Defendant Charlie Thomas Chevrolet, Ltd. d/b/a AutoNation Mitsubishi’s Motion to Compel Arbitration and for Stay or Dismissal of Litigation (Document No. 8) and Plaintiffs Motion for Voluntary Dismissal (Document No. 18) are both GRANTED, and it is ORDERED that all parties shall proceed to arbitration in accordance with the terms of their March 21, 2014 Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Contract. It is further
ORDERED that Plaintiffs claims against Defendant Charlie Thomas Chevrolet, Ltd. d/b/a AutoNation Mitsubishi and Defendant American Credit Acceptance, LLC are DISMISSED without prejudice on the merits, pending arbitration, and all other pending motions are DENIED as moot.
The Clerk shall notify all parties and provide them with a true copy of this Order.
.See Document No. 18 at 1 ("Upon reviewing the motion and the arbitration clauses, Plaintiff agrees that this dispute, under U.S. law, must be dismissed and moved to an arbitration forum.”).
. Document No. 11 (PL’s 1st Am. Compl.).
. Id. ¶. 10.
. Document No. 8, ex. A at 4 of 4,
. Id, Plaintiff and AutoNation also signed a separate Arbitration Agreement providing that they "agree that arbitration will be the sole method of resolving any claim dispute or controversy” arising from their dealings. Id., ex. B.
. Document No. 11 ¶¶ 8, 15, 19.
. Document No. 1 (Pl.'s Orig, Compl,).
. Document No. 8.
. Document No. 9.
. Document No. 18.
. Document No. 24.
. The Arbitration Clause is governed by the FAA. See Document No. 8, ex. A at 4 of 4 ("Any arbitration under this Arbitration Clause shall be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq.) and not by any state law concerning arbitration.”).
. Document No. 8 at 6,
. American argues that voluntary dismissal under Rule 41(a)(2) is inappropriate because American has counterclaimed for attorneys’ fees under the DTPA. Document No, 24 at 8-9. See Fed, R, Civ. P. 41(a)(2) ("If a defendant has pleaded a counterclaim before being served with the plaintiff's motion to dismiss, the action may be dismissed over the defendant’s objection only if the counterclaim can remain pending for independent adjudication.’’). However, although American requests attorneys’ fees in its motions to dismiss, it has not filed a counterclaim requesting such fees. Besides, a party's entitlement to recover attorneys’ fees is simply one more of the arbitrable issues embedded in the total controversy.
. The Arbitration Clause provides that "[a]r-bitration shall be conducted by the American Arbitration Association ... or any other organization that you choose subject to our approval.” Document No, 8, ex. A at 4 of 4.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Christian NAVARRO v. CHARLIE THOMAS CHEVROLET, LTD. d/b/a AutoNation Mitsubishi and American Credit Acceptance, LLC
- Status
- Published