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Western District of Washington Reverses Course and Compels Arbitration
October 20, 2020

Following unsuccessful motions to dismiss, the defendants moved to compel arbitration, arguing that they had not moved to compel the matter to arbitration earlier because the plaintiffs had not yet completed all stages of the dispute resolution procedures required before the parties could arbitrate. The court found that Aliera Companies, Inc. and Aliera Healthcare, Inc. (collectively, "Aliera") demonstrated it had not waived its right to compel arbitration, as Aliera's initial motion to dismiss did not seek to dismiss the matter on the merits, and thus, Aliera did not act inconsistently with their right to compel arbitration.

As to Trinity HealthShare, Inc. ("Trinity"), the court found that Trinity's motion to dismiss the complaint as a matter of law with prejudice did seek a resolution on the merits, and thus Trinity acted inconsistently with its right to compel arbitration. Notwithstanding, the court found that the plaintiffs were not prejudiced by Trinity's action, and thus could not establish that Trinity waived its rights to arbitration. The court's prior decision denying the defendants' motion to compel arbitration was vacated, and the parties required to arbitrate.

Jackson, et al. v. The Aliera Companies, Inc., 2:19-cv-01281 (W.D. Wash. Oct. 6, 2020)
Authored By
Image: Nora A. Valenza-Frost
Nora A. Valenza-Frost
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