Merrill

BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs enrolled in defendant’s Bachelors of Science Nursing Program between 2008 and 2009. As part of their enrollment, plaintiffs each signed an EA. The EA signed by Merrill contains an arbitration provision that provides as follows: “Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to the Agreement, or breach thereof, not addressed by the California Education Code, shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the Commercial Rules of the Arbitration American Arbitration Association, and judgment

2 upon the award rendered by the Arbitrator(s) may be entered in any court having jurisdiction.”

The EA signed by Tran contains no arbitration provision. Merrill and Tran also signed one or more RICs.1 Each of the RICs incorporates by reference the terms of plaintiffs’ respective EAs. The RICs state: “This agreement is subject to the terms and conditions in the Additional Terms of This Contract on the backside of this Contract and your Enrollment Agreement, which is incorporated herein by reference as though set forth in full.” The RICs signed by plaintiffs also contain the following arbitration provision: “Agreement to Arbitrate. Either you or we may, without…