Phan v. Knight Sacramento SU CA3

── Phan v. Knight Sacramento SU CA3 ── Court: California Court of Appeal Date: June 05, 2026 Category: General Filed 6/5/26 Phan v. Knight Sacramento SU CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115. IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Sacramento) MICHELLE PHAN, C103401 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 24CV016958) v. KNIGHT SACRAMENTO SU INC., et al., Defendants and Appellants. Defendants and appellants, Knight Sacramento SU Inc., et al. (Knight), are California corporations operating car dealerships throughout the state. Plaintiff and respondent, Michelle Phan (Phan), was intermittently employed by Elk Grove Subaru (Subaru) and Elk Grove Volkswagen (Volkswagen) between 2022 and 2024. In 2024, Phan filed wage and hour claims against Knight in both her individual capacity and on behalf of a class of current and former employees of Knight. Phan demanded a jury trial. Relying on the arbitration agreements signed by Phan during her employment, Knight moved to compel arbitration of Phan’s claims, or alternatively, to sever any invalid terms and enforce the remainder of the agreements. Relying on Cook v. University of Southern California (2024) 102 Cal.App.5th 312 (Cook), the trial court denied the motion, finding that the arbitration agreements were both procedurally and 1 substantively unconscionable and therefore unenforceable. The court also declined to sever the unconscionable terms. Knight appeals and argues that the trial court incorrectly applied Cook, and in any event, Cook is distinguishable. Knight also asks this Court to decline to follow the Cook decision. We affirm the trial court’s order. FACTS AND HISTORY OF THE PROCEEDINGS Arbitration Agreements Phan was hired by Elk Grove Volkswagen around November 16, 2022. While employed there, Phan signed three arbitration agreements, including a standalone arbitration agreement that supersedes all the others. Phan signed the standalone arbitration agreement on December 6, 2022. Phan also worked at Elk Grove Subaru between April and October 2023, and again between May and July 2024. While employed there, Phan signed four arbitration agreements, including a standalone arbitration agreement that supersedes all the others. Phan signed this standalone agreement on May 23, 2024. The standalone arbitration agreements from Volkswagen and Subaru (Agreements) are identical. The Agreements require Phan to pursue “any claims,” including “any and all claims which arise out of the employment context or any other interaction/relationship we had, have or may have in the future” against Knight, and third-party beneficiaries, through binding arbitration. The Agreements further define the scope of arbitrable claims as “any claim, dispute, and/or controversy that either party brings against the other []including, but not limited to, any claims of discrimination and harassment, whether they be based on the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, claims pursuant to the California Private Attorneys General Act (‘PAGA’) 2 unless prohibited by controlling law, as well as all other applicable state or federal laws or regulations which would otherwise require or allow resort to any court or other governmenta