Young Living’s attempt to compel arbitration in the RICO class-action filed against it has been denied.

Young Living filed a Motion to Compel Arbitration on June 11th.

The motion was your usual affair, and pointed to the “Arbitration Carveout” in Young Living distributor contracts.

On October 18th a Magistrate Judge filed a Report and Recommendation that Young Living’s motion be denied.

Young Living filed an objection to the report, arguing that it failed “to apply binding United States Supreme Court precedent”, and failed to address the arbitration clause.

Taking into consideration various filings from the parties involved, in a November 27th order the court sided with the Magistrate Judge.

The court disagrees (with Young Living), finding that the magistrate judge properly relied on applicable law and properly concluded that the Forum Selection Clause and Arbitration Clause conflict so that they cannot be harmonized.

Young Living’s objections were overruled and their arbitration motion was denied.

This is great news for the plaintiffs behind the case, as arbitration clauses typically favor MLM companies over distributors.

Stay tuned for updates as the case continues…

 

Update 19th February 2020 – Young Living has appealed the arbitration decision.

Pending the outcome of the appeal, the class-action itself has been stayed.