United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Local No. 1780 v. Desert Palace, Incorporated, D/B/A Caesars Palace Las Vegas

Defendant Desert Palace, Inc. (the “employer”) appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment compelling arbitration in this ease. Plaintiff United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Local No. 1780 (“union”) brought this action to compel arbitration pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement between the union and the employer under the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 185 . We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . The district court had jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1381 and 1337. We affirm. We conclude that where a sufficiently broad arbitration clause exists, the arbitrator, rather than the courts, must decide in the first instance whether a particular dispute is arbitrable.

BACKGROUND

The parties stipulated to the facts in this ease. The employer and the union were parties to a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) for the period of August 1, 1991, through July 31,1995.

On October 18, 1993, the employer assigned an employee, Jose A Galvan (the “employee”), to a “light duty” position while the employee recovered from a work-related injury. The employee was hurt while working for the employer as an upholsterer, a job classification…