Charlton E. Bell v. Atlantic Trucking Company, Inc., et al

FILED
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
DECEMBER 13, 2010
JOHN LEY
CLERK
[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
________________________
No. 10-10063
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D.C. Docket No. 3:09-cv-00406-TJC-MCR
CHARLTON E. BELL,
lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee,
versus
ATLANTIC TRUCKING COMPANY, INC.,
TED SPARKS,
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants - Appellants.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Florida
________________________
(December 13, 2010)
Before BARKETT and MARTIN, Circuit Judges, and HUNT, District Judge.*
PER CURIAM:
Honorable Willis B. Hunt, Jr., United States District Judge for the Northern District of*
Georgia, sitting by designation.

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Atlantic Trucking Company, Inc. and Ted Sparks, the manager of their
terminal in Jacksonville, Florida appeal from the denial of their Motion to Dismiss
or, in the alternative, Compel Arbitration of Charlton Bell’s employment
discrimination claim. Appellants contend that Bell’s employment agreement
mandates arbitration pursuant to the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”). However,
9 U.S.C. § 1 provides that the mandatory arbitration provisions of the FAA do not
apply to “contracts of employment of seamen, railroad employees, or any other
class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce.” The district court
found that Bell was an employee as contemplated by section 1 of the FAA, and
thus the arbitration agreement in his contract was not enforceable. Based on the
facts in this record, we cannot say the district court erred in concluding that Bell
was an employee of Atlantic Trucking and thus not subject to compulsory
arbitration under the FAA.
AFFIRMED
2

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