IATSE Local 720 V. InSync Show Prod., No. 12-17200 (9th Cir. 2015)
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This case stems from a dispute over a petition to compel arbitration under a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between IATSE and InSync. The district court granted IATSE’s petition to compel arbitration pursuant to the parties’ initial agreement and “stayed” the case. The court concluded that the district court's arbitration order was final under 28 U.S.C. 1291 because the stay lacked any legal or practical effect. Therefore, the court has jurisdiction to review the order. On the merits, the court concluded that, given the scope of the arbitration provision and the nature of the parties’ dispute, the arbitrator and not the district court must consider IATSE and InSync’s competing interpretations of the evergreen clause and decide
whether the 2003–2007 CBA expired or was terminated. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment.
Court Description: Labor Law / Arbitration. The panel affirmed the district court’s order granting a petition to compel arbitration under a collective bargaining agreement between a union and an employer. The district court granted the union’s petition and “stayed” the case. The panel concluded that the district court’s arbitration order was final under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 because the stay lacked any legal or practical effect under either the Labor Management Relations Act or the Federal Arbitration Act. The panel therefore exercised jurisdiction to review the district court’s order. Affirming the district court’s order compelling arbitration, the panel held that it was for the arbitrator to decide whether the parties’ collective bargaining agreement had expired when the union sought to invoke the agreement’s grievance and arbitration procedure, or whether, pursuant to an “evergreen clause,” the agreement continued in effect. IATSE V. INSYNC SHOW PRODUCTIONS 3
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