EAST ST. LOUIS - Amanda Aucutt of Dupo, who sued former employer Capstone Restaurant Group, claims she never saw or signed an agreement to arbitrate such a dispute.
Her counsel Mark Scoggins of Columbia opposed arbitration at U.S. district court on Feb. 13, claiming Capstone can’t prove Aucutt signed the agreement online.
Scoggins claimed she requested a certificate of authorization or an electronic log to authenticate the signature affixed to the agreement, but she received no documentation.
Capstone’s website states that it operates more than 100 Hardee’s and Carl’s Junior restaurants in 10 states.
Aucutt sued Capstone in October at Monroe County Circuit Court in Waterloo and served the complaint in December.
Scoggins alleged Capstone hired Aucutt as general manager in Waterloo and assigned her to other locations, including Chesterfield, Missouri.
He claimed Aucutt injured her right eye in 2022 while working in Chesterfield and sought treatment with the knowledge and consent of her employer.
He added that Capstone then willfully and maliciously terminated Aucutt last June in violation of workers compensation laws in both Missouri and Illinois.
Capstone's counsel Heidi Durr of St. Louis County removed the suit to district court in January, asserting diversity jurisdiction for Capstone as a Colorado citizen.
Durr moved to compel arbitration on Feb. 1, claiming Aucutt entered into an arbitration agreement prior to her employment.
She claimed it was impossible for Aucutt to work for Capstone unless she electronically executed the agreement on the program for incoming employees.
Capstone allegedly used Snagajob as its vendor to facilitate applications and execute documents for incoming employees.
Snagajob allegedly can’t transmit documents without an electronic signature.
Durr claimed Snagajob records reflected that Aucutt used her credentials to log into the site, and she electronically signed documents.
She claimed Aucutt’s electronic signature was digitally captured.
She claimed if Aucutt had clicked "cancel" on the screen, her documents couldn’t have been completed or uploaded to Capstone.
She added that a prospective employee who does not accept the arbitration agreement cannot and will not be able to begin work.
Scoggins responded with a declaration of Aucutt that as a manager who assisted incoming employees, “I recall there being an arbitration agreement.”
“However, according to my recollection, I have never seen nor signed the agreement to arbitrate that I allegedly signed at any point,” she wrote.
“I have personally witnessed individuals being hired without going through the allegedly necessary process laid out in defendant’s motion to compel arbitration,” she added.
“For defendant to say that it is impossible for employees to start working without going through the process laid out in its motion to compel arbitration is simply not true,” she continued.
“My hiring process was potentially unusual in relation to defendant’s typical hiring process because the process I went through was not as structured as is purported in defendant’s motion to compel arbitration,” she wrote.
Magistrate Judge Gilbert Sison presides.