Langere v. Verizon Wireless Services, LLC, No. 19-55747 (9th Cir. 2020)
Annotate this CaseThe Ninth Circuit held that plaintiff does not create appellate jurisdiction by voluntarily dismissing his claims with prejudice after being forced to arbitrate them. The panel dismissed plaintiff's appeal of the district court's denial of his motions to compel arbitration and reconsideration, and from his own voluntary dismissal. The panel concluded that it lacked jurisdiction over plaintiff's putative class action. In doing so, the panel held that Omstead v. Dell, Inc., 594 F.3d 1081 (9th Cir. 2010), which held that a plaintiff can avoid arbitration and manufacture appellate jurisdiction simply by voluntarily dismissing his claims with prejudice, has been effectively overruled by the Supreme Court's decision in Microsoft Corp. v. Baker, 137 S. Ct. 1702 (2017).
Court Description: Arbitration / Appellate Jurisdiction. The panel dismissed for lack of jurisdiction a Verizon Wireless customer’s appeal from the district court’s orders denying his motions to compel arbitration and reconsideration, and from his own voluntary dismissal, in a case in which the plaintiff brought a putative class action against Verizon for violation of federal and state consumer- protection laws. In Omstead v. Dell, Inc., 594 F.3d 1081 (9th Cir. 2010), this court held that a plaintiff can avoid arbitration and manufacture appellate jurisdiction simply by voluntarily dismissing his claims with prejudice. The panel concluded that Omstead has been effectively overruled by Microsoft Corp. v. Baker, 137 S. Ct. 1702 (2017). The panel therefore held that a plaintiff does not create appellate jurisdiction by voluntarily dismissing his claims with prejudice after being forced to arbitrate them. LANGERE V. VERIZON WIRELESS SERVS. 3
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