Smalheiser

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 HOWARD SMALHEISER, et al., Case No. 3:24-cv-00219-JD

Plaintiffs,

ORDER RE ARBITRATION AND

v. STAY

MERCEDES-BENZ USA LLC, Defendant.

In December 2023, plaintiffs Howard and Muriel Smalheiser sued defendant Mercedes- Benz USA LLC (MBUSA) for breach of warranty in violation of California’s Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1790 et seq., for a Mercedes-Benz vehicle leased in May 2023. Dkt. No. 1-1. Plaintiffs allege that their leased vehicle was delivered with “serious defects . . . including, but not limited to, engine, electrical, and emission system defects.” Id. ¶ 10. MBUSA removed the case to this Court on traditional diversity jurisdiction grounds. Dkt. No. 1. MBUSA now asks to compel arbitration as a third-party beneficiary of an arbitration clause in the lease between plaintiffs and the vehicle’s lessor, Mercedes Benz of Walnut Creek, or, in the alternative under the doctrine of equitable estoppel. Dkt. No.…