Michael Ashbey v. Archstone Property Management

Defendant Archstone Communities LLC (“Archstone”) appeals from the district court’s denial of its Motion to Compel Arbitration. We reverse the district court’s order and remand for entry of an order granting Archstone’s Motion to Compel Arbitration.

I.

Michael Ashbey was employed at Arch-stone from December 1996 until November 2010, when he was fired. He began as a Service Technician and was promoted to Regional Service Manager in 2003.

In 2009, Ashbey signed a document entitled “Acknowledgment of Receipt of Arch- stone Company Policy Manual 2009” (“Acknowledgment”). The Acknowledgment contained the following language:

As the Acknowledgment twice mentioned, the Company Policy Manual for 2009 (“Manual”) (as well as the Manual for 2010) contained a detailed Dispute Resolution Policy section explaining Arch-stone’s arbitration policy. The Dispute Resolution Policy stated in relevant part:

In November 2011, Ashbey filed a complaint in California state court alleging, among other claims, unlawful retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. (“Title VII”), and equivalent state-law claims. In his complaint, Ashbey alleged…