Gloster

Plaintiff Sean Gloster filed an employment-related lawsuit against his former employer, defendant Melody Toyota (Melody), Melody’s parent corporation, other employees, and a third party. Although Melody and its related defendants warned Gloster prior to his filing of the lawsuit they would insist on arbitration under his employment agreement, the defendants waited until a year after the complaint was filed before petitioning the trial court to compel arbitration, filing a motion for summary judgment along with the petition. The trial court denied both the motion and the petition, reasoning defendants had waived the right to arbitration by their delay and the joinder of the third party created a risk of inconsistent rulings. We conclude the denial of the summary judgment motion is not appealable and dismiss the appeal to the extent it seeks review of this order, but we reverse the trial court’s denial of the petition to compel arbitration.

I. BACKGROUND

Gloster is a former employee of Melody, a subsidiary of defendant Sonic Automotive, Inc. (Sonic). In May 2011, Gloster filed suit against Melody, Sonic, and other defendants. The first amended complaint, filed the next…