Valentine

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiffs Keith Valentine, Patrick Keran, and John Bostjancic briefly served as high-ranking executive officers of Orthofix Medical, Inc. (Orthofix) before the company terminated their employment for alleged misconduct. According to the plaintiffs, Orthofix and its board of directors committed various torts, breached their contracts with the plaintiffs, and defamed the plaintiffs in connection with the termination of their employment. The plaintiffs and Orthofix were signatories to written arbitration agreements requiring individual arbitration of claims arising out of the employment relationship. After Orthofix terminated the plaintiffs’ employment, the plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in superior court requesting various court orders including an order compelling two of the company’s directors, Catherine Burzik and Wayne Burris (hereafter, the directors), into arbitration. The court declined to compel the directors into arbitration on the ground that they were not signatories to the arbitration agreements between the plaintiffs and the company. The court then sustained a demurrer to the plaintiffs’ pleading and entered judgment for the defense. The plaintiffs appeal the…