Towell

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW

Because this case revolves almost entirely around the interpretation of the two documents Towell signed, we quote them at length. A. The Employment Application The first document is titled “Application for Employment.” On the first four pages of the document, Towell entered the

2 information typical of an employment application, such as her name and address, the position she was applying for (new car sales), and her employment history, in the spaces provided on the form. The fifth page of the document is titled “Applicant Statement and Agreement” and consists of several paragraphs of very small text,1 with a space for Towell to sign at the bottom. Near the top of the page is a paragraph reading, “The Company and Employee (hereinafter collectively referred to as the ‘Parties’) hereby agree to use a system of alternative dispute resolution which involves binding arbitration to resolve all disputes which may arise out of the employment context. Because of the mutual benefits . . . which private binding arbitration can provide both the Company and Employee, Employee and the Company both agree that any claim, dispute, and/or controversy arising from, or…