Navas
Navas v. Fresh Venture Foods, LLC
Opinion
Opinion
FACTS
Navas, Lopez, Ramos, and other FVF employees filed a class action lawsuit against FVF alleging, among other things, that the company did not pay minimum and overtime wages. They also alleged a cause of action under PAGA for civil penalties “for themselves and other current and former employees” for “labor law violations.” In 2021, FVF moved “to compel arbitration” of the claims of Navas, Lopez, and Ramos. FVF claimed Navas, Lopez, and Ramos signed arbitration agreements and agreed to arbitrate their individual claims against FVF and “[gave] up the right to represent others in litigation or to participate in any class, collective, or representative action in a court of law.” Navas, Lopez, and Ramos, however, claimed they did not recognize the purported arbitration agreement or the signatures on them. Moreover, the agreement presented by FVF contained unconscionable provisions. The trial court found FVF did not prove Lopez and Ramos entered into arbitration agreements. The arbitration agreement signed by Navas was procedurally and substantively unconscionable. Among other things, it contained “an acknowledgement that [a] waiver [of PAGA rights] occurred.”