Murphy v. Check 'N Go of California, Inc.

Defendant Check ’N Go of California, Inc., appeals from an order denying its motion to compel arbitration of a wage and hour case filed by plaintiff Lisa Murphy. The main issues are whether the class action waiver in the arbitration agreement is unconscionable, a question we review with the benefit of the recent decision in Gentry v. Superior Court (2007) 42 Cal.4th 443 [ 64 Cal.Rptr.3d 773 , 165 P.3d 556 ] {Gentry), and whether that question should be resolved by the court, rather than an arbitrator appointed under the agreement. We conclude that the court was empowered to decide the unconscionability issue, agree with its ruling that the class action waiver is unconscionable, and affirm the order denying the motion to compel arbitration.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff worked for defendant, a payday lending company, for eight years ending in 2005; for the last seven of those eight years she held the position of “salaried retail manager.” She sued defendant in February 2006, alleging that defendant misclassified its salaried retail managers as exempt employees under state labor laws. The suit asserts causes of action on behalf of the class of salaried retail managers for…