Burns v. NY Life Ins.
| Decision Date | 01 August 1999 |
| Docket Number | No. 99-7325,No. 392,D,392,99-7325 |
| Citation | 202 F.3d 616 |
| Parties | (2nd Cir. 2000) MARION BURNS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. NEW YORK LIFE INSURANCE CO., Defendant-Appellant. ocket |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit |
MICHAEL DELIKAT, New York, N.Y. (John D. Giansello, Rene Kathawala, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, on the brief) for Defendant-Appellant.
STEPHEN J. HYMAN, New York, N.Y. (Janet C. Neschis, Deanna R. Waldron, Leavy Rosenweig & Hyman, New York, N.Y., on the brief) for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Before: JACOBS, McLAUGHLIN and SACK, Circuit Judges.
Plaintiff-appellee Marion Burns ("Burns") alleges that he was the victim of race discrimination in the course of his employment with New York Life Insurance Company ("New York Life"). New York Life has moved to compel arbitration of Burns's employment discrimination claims on the ground:
(i) that Burns also worked for New York Life Securities, Inc. and its predecessor in interest ("NYL Securities"), a wholly owned subsidiary of New York Life that had no employees of its own and was staffed by employees (including Burns) seconded to it by New York Life;
(ii) that in 1981, Burns filed a Uniform Application for Securities Industry Registration ("Form U-4"), countersigned by the predecessor of NYL Securities, which was needed for him to sell securities through that firm;
(iii) that the Application form, promulgated by the National Association of Securities Dealers ("NASD"), contained an arbitration clause incorporating by reference the NASD Code of Arbitration Procedure (the "Code"); and (iv) that the Code (prior to January 1, 1999) provided for arbitration of all "employment related" disputes.
The issue on appeal is whether New York Life, although not itself a direct signatory to the Form U-4, can avail itself of the arbitration provisions under the NASD Code.1. The district court held that New York Life could not compel arbitration because a claim brought against a "non-member" of the NASD (such as New York Life) is ineligible for arbitration under the Code unless the claim arises from the parent defendant's day-to-day control of a subsidiary NASD member. See Burns v. New York Life Ins. Co., No. 97 CIV. 4559(TPG), 1999 WL 101773, at *4, (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 26, 1999).
We affirm the denial of New York Life's motion, but do so on the somewhat different ground that New York Life is not a party that can compel arbitration under the Code. See Citrus Mktg. Bd. of Israel v. J. Lauritzen A/S, 943 F.2d 220, 223 (2d Cir. 1991) (). We therefore do not reach the issue, decided by the district court, as to whether Burns's claim was eligible for submission under the Code.
Marion Burns, an African-American, was first employed by New York Life in 1972 and by the time this suit was filed was the Managing Partner of New York Life's New Jersey Office. Burns alleges that on account of his race, New York Life denied him promotions and interfered in his management of the branch office in an effort to undermine his performance and create a pretext for demotion or termination. The complaint pleads claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq., the Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. 1981, and analogous state provisions. The complaint was amended on April 12, 1999 after New York Life eliminated Burns's position. New York Life moves to stay the action and compel arbitration under the NASD Code of Arbitration Procedure.
New York Life and its subsidiaries sell life insurance and other financial products. NYL Securities, an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of New York Life, was staffed entirely by employees of the parent company. As a registered broker-dealer of securities products, NYL Securities is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), the NASD, and state regulatory agencies. NYL Securities is a "member" of the NASD; New York Life is not. Employees of New York Life who work in the sale of securities products through its subsidiary NYL Securities, such as the plaintiff, are required to register as representatives with the NASD.
New York Life is the only defendant in this suit. The complaint pleads that New York Life has engaged in a pattern of discrimination against black employees and (in particular) black managers, and that New York Life foreclosed Burns from opportunities for corporate advancement available to white managers; there is no mention of any officer or employee of NYL Securities, or of any events that took place in the course of business that Burns conducted on behalf of NYL Securities. It is undisputed, however, that Burns's employment entailed daily oversight of employees engaged in securities transactions on behalf of NYL Securities.
In 1981, while still very much employed by New York Life, Burns became a registered representative of New York Life Variable, a predecessor to NYL Securities. As a condition of registration, Burns filed with the NASD a Uniform Application for Securities Industry Registration or Transfer ("Form U-4"), which was countersigned by New York Life Variable. The Form U-4 elicited information about Burns's employment and personal history, and contained various general employment provisions to which, by his signature, Burns agreed. One of these was an arbitration clause stating:
I agree to arbitrate any dispute, claim or controversy that may arise between me and my firm, or a customer, or any other person that is required to be arbitrated under the rules, constitutions, or by-laws of the organizations with which I register. . . .
The relevant "rules" and "by-laws" in the Form's arbitration clause are those of the NASD, specifically, the NASD Code of Arbitration Procedure (the "Code").
Rule 10101 of the NASD Code expansively defines the issues and subject matters that may be arbitrated as follows:
10101. MATTERS ELIGIBLE FOR SUBMISSION
This Code of Arbitration Procedures is prescribed and adopted . . . for the arbitration of any dispute claim or controversy arising out of or in connection with the business of any member of the Association, or arising out of the employment or termination of employment of associated person(s) with any member, with the exception of disputes involving the insurance business of any member which is also an insurance company;
(a) between or among members;
(b) between or among members and associated persons;
(c) between or among members or associated persons and public customers, or others.
Rule 10201(a) of the NASD Code in turn describes a subset of issues as to which certain specified parties may compel arbitration:
10201. REQUIRED SUBMISSION
(a) Any dispute, claim, or controversy eligible for submission under [Rule 10101] between or among members and/or associated persons, and/or certain others, arising in connection with the business of such member(s) or in connection with the activities of such associated person(s), or arising out of the employment or termination of employment of such associated person(s) with such member, shall be arbitrated under this Code, at the instance of:
(1) a member against another member;
(2) a member against a person associated with a member or a person associated with a member against a member; and
(3) a person associated with a member against a person associated with a member.
(emphasis added).2
Thus Rule 10101 describes the scope of permissive arbitration as any dispute "arising in connection with the business" of members or arising "in connection with the activities of such associated person(s)," McMahan Sec. Co. L.P. v. Forum Capital Mkts. L.P., 35 F.3d 82, 86 (2d Cir. 1994), while Rule 10201 limits the scope of mandatory arbitration to disputes that are initiated by specified classes of persons (a "member" or "a person associated with a member") against specified classes of persons, and that are "between or among members and/or associated persons, and/or certain others." Id. Accordingly, unless New York Life is a party that can avail itself of Rule 10201, it has no power to force the present action to arbitration, regardless of whether the substantive dispute is eligible for submission pursuant to Rule 10101.
The NASD By-Laws define a "member" as "any broker or dealer admitted to membership" in the NASD. See National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., NASD By-Laws, Art. I., 1101(i) (April 1992) ("NASD By-Laws"). The By-Laws define an "associated person of a member" as:
[A] sole proprietor, partner, officer, director, or branch manager of any member, or any natural person occupying a similar status or performing similar functions, or any natural person engaged in the investment banking or securities business who is directly or indirectly controlling or controlled by such member. . . .
NASD By-Laws, 1101(m) (emphasis added).
Burns concedes that he is a "person associated with a member" and it is undisputed that NYL Securities is a "member" of NASD. New York Life, however is the only named defendant and the only party that seeks to compel arbitration in this case. Accordingly, the question is whether New York Life, by virtue of its status as the parent of NYL Securities--an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary and "member" of NASD--is a "person associated with a member" that can compel arbitration pursuant to Rule 10201(a)(3).
The Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA"), see 9 U.S.C. 1 et seq., requires a federal court to enforce arbitration agreements...
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