Chan

Defendants and appellants Drexel Burnham Lambert Incorporated (DBL) and Robert B. Zusman (Zusman) appeal from the denial of their petition to compel arbitration and motion for an order staying proceedings pending arbitration of their controversy with plaintiff and respondent Adora K. Chan (Chan).

Because the arbitration clause was not incorporated by reference into Chan’s application form, the order is affirmed.

Factual and Procedural Background

Chan was employed as a stockbroker by DBL, a securities brokerage firm, of which Zusman is an executive. As a condition of her continued employment with DBL, Zusman’s secretary asked Chan to sign a form concerning her registration as a securities broker.

On March 11, 1980, Chan executed a four-page document entitled uniform application for securities and commodities industry representative and/ or agent (U-4). The U-4 is the document relied on by DBL as the agreement between it and Chan providing for arbitration. Line 9 of page 1 of the U-4 indicated applicant Chan was to be registered with the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).…