Christopher L. Gore v. Alltel Commu , 666 F.3d 1027 ( 2012 )


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  •                             In the
    United States Court of Appeals
    For the Seventh Circuit
    No. 11-2089
    C HRISTOPHER L. G ORE,
    Plaintiff-Appellee,
    v.
    A LLTEL C OMMUNICATIONS, LLC, AND
    A LLTEL C OMMUNICATIONS, LLC, as
    Successor in Interest to SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
    C ELLULAR C ORP., doing business as
    F IRST C ELLULAR S OUTHERN ILLINOIS,
    Defendants-Appellants.
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Southern District of Illinois.
    No. 3:10-cv-00735—David R. Herndon, Chief Judge.
    A RGUED O CTOBER 31, 2011—D ECIDED JANUARY 19, 2012
    Before K ANNE and W ILLIAMS, Circuit Judges, and
    D EG UILIO , District Judge. Œ
    Œ
    Of the United States District Court for the Northern District
    of Indiana, sitting by designation.
    2                                              No. 11-2089
    W ILLIAMS, Circuit Judge. Christopher Gore brought
    this class action against his wireless services provider,
    Alltel Communications, LLC, for failing to honor the
    terms of an agreement he previously made with a
    company Alltel acquired, but Alltel moved to compel
    arbitration in light of a broad arbitration clause included
    in its service agreement with Gore. The district court
    denied that motion, concluding that a genuine dispute
    existed regarding the scope of the arbitration clause.
    We disagree. Because Gore’s claims are based in part on
    the products and services he received under the Alltel
    Agreement, we find that the arbitration clause applies,
    and so we reverse.
    I. BACKGROUND
    Gore entered into a long-term wireless service agree-
    ment with Southern Illinois Cellular Corporation, d/b/a
    First Cellular Southern Illinois (“First Cellular”) on
    October 6, 2005. By that agreement (the “First Cellular
    Agreement”), First Cellular contracted to provide wire-
    less telephone and other multimedia services to Gore
    for a two-year period in exchange for Gore paying ap-
    proximately $40 each month. Gore subscribed to four
    different wireless lines under the First Cellular Agree-
    ment. Three lines used First Cellular’s Code Division
    Multiple Access (“CDMA”) technology, and the other
    used the company’s Global System for Mobile Communi-
    cations (“GSM”) technology. The First Cellular Agree-
    ment did not contain an arbitration clause.
    No. 11-2089                                                3
    On May 1, 2006, Alltel acquired First Cellular. At the
    time, the First Cellular Agreement had approximately
    17 months remaining before its scheduled expiration.
    Gore claims that before the First Cellular Agreement
    expired Alltel began dismantling First Cellular’s GSM
    network, causing the network and its features to be
    periodically unavailable. Gore’s three CDMA lines were
    fully transitioned to the Alltel network at some point
    in October 2006. However, Alltel informed Gore that
    because it “did not use GSM technology, [Gore’s GSM
    line] could not be transitioned to Alltel” until some later
    date. The GSM line was transitioned in April 2007.
    In November 2006, Alltel sent Gore an invoice, dated
    November 3, 2006, showing a balance of $100.77 and
    indicating that Gore’s credit card would be charged that
    amount on November 23, 2006. On page 2 of the invoice,
    under a “General Information” heading, the following
    text appeared (in approximately size 7 font):
    These services are subject to Alltel’s terms
    and conditions, which are found on the back
    of your customer service agreement and at
    www.alltel.com. By paying this bill, you acknowl-
    edge that you are bound by these terms and condi-
    tions.
    Page 9 of the ten-page invoice included an “Acceptance”
    provision that explained:
    You accept this Agreement when you do any of
    the following: (a) give us your written or electronic
    signature, (b) tell us orally or electronically that
    you accept, or (c) use or attempt to use any of the
    4                                             No. 11-2089
    Equipment or Services. If you have never used
    the services before and do not wish to be bound
    by these Terms and Conditions, do not begin
    using the Services or Equipment and notify us
    immediately.
    And the last page of the invoice contained the arbitration
    provision at issue in this case (in approximately size 6
    font):
    ANY DISPUTE ARISING OUT OF THIS AGREE-
    MENT OR RELATING TO THE SERVICES AND
    EQUIPMENT MUST BE SETTLED BY ARBITRA-
    TION . . . . ALL CLAIMS MUST BE ARBITRATED
    INDIVIDUALLY, AND THERE WILL BE NO
    CONSOLIDATION OR CLASS TREATMENT OF
    ANY CLAIMS. . . .
    (all capitalizations in original).
    The invoice made clear, “This ‘Agreement’ includes [the]
    Terms and Conditions and your Service Order.” It defined
    “Service(s)” as “any services you have asked us to
    provide you through this agreement.” And it declared
    that “Equipment” included “any communication equip-
    ment or accessories you purchase or lease from us or use
    in any manner in connection with your Services.” Gore’s
    credit card was charged, and Alltel took that as
    Gore’s acceptance of described terms and conditions.
    When Alltel completed the transition of Gore’s lines
    to the Alltel network, Gore’s GSM line was rendered
    “completely inoperable.” At the time, approximately
    6 months remained on the First Cellular Agreement.
    No. 11-2089                                               5
    Alltel informed Gore that he needed to purchase an Alltel-
    compatible phone and agree to a new wireless service
    plan or pay a $250 termination fee to disconnect his
    service. Gore purchased an Alltel phone, entered into a
    new service contract with Alltel, and agreed to pay
    $109 per month for a wireless service plan similar to
    the plan for which he contracted with First Cellular.
    Gore initiated this class action suit against Alltel, as
    First Cellular’s successor in interest, in an Illinois state
    trial court. He asserts a handful of claims against both
    First Cellular and Alltel. His first claim charges Alltel
    with breach of contract for rendering his GSM phone
    and equipment useless, refusing to honor the features
    and prices of the First Cellular Agreement, and seeking
    to enforce the early termination provision despite First
    Cellular’s breach. Gore’s second claim is for deceptive
    trade practices under Illinois law; he alleges that First
    Cellular knowingly and deceptively induced him and
    other customers to enter into 24-month agreements
    despite knowing that the services would soon be
    rendered inoperable. His third claim is for civil conspir-
    acy. It is predicated on an alleged agreement between
    First Cellular and Alltel to unlawfully breach the First
    Cellular Agreement after Alltel’s acquisition of First
    Cellular. His next claim seeks to hold First Cellular
    liable for aiding and abetting Alltel in carrying out the
    fraudulent scheme. And his final claim is one for unjust
    enrichment, through which he seeks disgorgement of the
    profits and revenues that First Cellular obtained as a
    result of its failure to disclose the acquisition plan and
    its intent to eliminate the GSM service, and the profits
    6                                               No. 11-2089
    that Alltel made by refusing to honor the First Cellular
    Agreement.
    Alltel removed this case to the Southern District of
    Illinois under the Class Action Fairness Act, 28 U.S.C.
    § 1453. It then moved to compel arbitration. The district
    court denied the motion without prejudice. In doing so,
    the court found that the parties genuinely disputed
    whether they entered into an arbitration agreement,
    when they did so, and whether Gore’s causes of action
    fell within the scope of that agreement. As a result, the
    court ordered discovery and a trial under section 4 of
    the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), 9 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq.
    Alltel moved for reconsideration, and it requested that
    the court alter or amend its order to make clear that
    discovery should be limited to the question of whether
    the parties entered into a valid arbitration agreement.
    Gore opposed Alltel’s motion for reconsideration but
    agreed to limited discovery. The court denied Alltel’s
    motion for reconsideration and ordered discovery on
    the merits concurrent with discovery on the arbitration
    issue. Alltel filed this interlocutory appeal pursuant
    to section 16 of the FAA. 9 U.S.C. § 16(a)(1)(A) (permitting
    an appeal to be taken from an order “refusing a stay
    of action under section 3 of this title”).
    II. ANALYSIS
    The primary issue on appeal is whether this dispute
    falls within the scope of the Alltel Agreement’s arbitra-
    tion clause. Alltel argues that the district court erred by
    denying its motion to compel arbitration. Gore disagrees,
    No. 11-2089                                                 7
    and responds that even if the arbitration clause encom-
    passes his claims, applying it to this dispute would be
    procedurally unconscionable. We address both issues
    in turn.
    A. The Broad Scope of the Arbitration Clause
    Title 9, section 2 of the United States Code (section 2 of
    the FAA) provides, in pertinent part:
    A written provision in any . . . contract evidencing
    a transaction involving commerce to settle by
    arbitration a controversy thereafter arising out
    of such contract or transaction . . . shall be valid,
    irrevocable, and enforceable, save upon
    such grounds as exist at law or in equity for the
    revocation of any contract.
    9 U.S.C. § 2. This provision embodies both a “liberal
    federal policy favoring arbitration and the fundamental
    principle that arbitration is a matter of contract.” AT&T
    Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 
    131 S. Ct. 1740
    , 1745 (2011)
    (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). But
    because arbitration is a matter of contract, “a party
    cannot be required to submit to arbitration any dispute
    which he has not agreed so to submit.” Howsam v. Dean
    Witter Reynolds, Inc., 
    537 U.S. 79
    , 83 (2002) (citation and
    internal quotation marks omitted). Rather, “courts must
    place arbitration agreements on an equal footing with
    other contracts, and enforce them according to their
    terms.” 
    Concepcion, 131 S. Ct. at 1745
    (citation omitted).
    To determine whether a contract’s arbitration
    clause applies to a given dispute, federal courts apply
    8                                                   No. 11-2089
    state-law principles of contract formation. Rosenblum v.
    Travelbyus.com Ltd., 
    299 F.3d 657
    , 662 (7th Cir. 2002). Once
    it is clear, however, that the parties have a contract
    that provides for arbitration of some issues between
    them, any doubt concerning the scope of the arbitration
    clause is resolved in favor of arbitration as a matter
    of federal law. Moses H. Cone Mem’l Hosp. v. Mercury
    Constr. Corp., 
    460 U.S. 1
    , 24-25 (1983); Miller v. Flume,
    
    139 F.3d 1130
    , 1136 (7th Cir. 1998). “To this end, a
    court may not deny a party’s request to arbitrate an
    issue ‘unless it may be said with positive assurance
    that the arbitration clause is not susceptible of an inter-
    pretation that covers the asserted dispute.’ ” Kiefer
    Specialty Flooring, Inc. v. Tarkett, Inc., 
    174 F.3d 907
    , 909 (7th
    Cir. 1999) (quoting United Steelworkers v. Warrior & Gulf
    Navigation Co., 
    363 U.S. 574
    , 582-83 (1960)). We review
    de novo a district court’s grant or denial of a motion to
    compel arbitration. 
    Id. In cases
    like this, where the parties enter into two
    agreements—though only one contains an arbitration
    clause, and the plaintiff brings a cause of action based,
    at least in part, on conduct contrary to the agreement
    that does not have the arbitration clause, the parties can
    be compelled to arbitrate only if (1) the clause itself
    is broad enough to encompass their dispute, or (2) the
    agreement containing the clause incorporates the
    other by reference. 
    Rosenblum, 299 F.3d at 662
    . The
    Alltel Agreement does not incorporate the First Cellular
    Agreement by reference. Alltel’s insistence that the
    Alltel Agreement’s merger clause does so is unavailing
    because “[a] merger clause does not incorporate other
    No. 11-2089                                               9
    contracts by reference,” and one contract incorporates
    another only if there is “an express intent to incorporate.”
    
    Id. at 665-66.
    We must decide, therefore, only whether
    the clause itself is broad enough to encompass this dis-
    pute. And it is undisputed that Illinois law governs
    our inquiry. See Tinder v. Pinkerton Sec., 
    305 F.3d 728
    ,
    733 (7th Cir. 2002).
    In Illinois, “the objective in interpreting a contract is
    to ascertain and give effect to the intent of the parties.”
    Carey v. Richards Bldg. Supply Co., 
    856 N.E.2d 24
    , 27 (Ill.
    App. Ct. 2006) (citation omitted). Most important are
    “the objective manifestations of the parties, including
    the language they used in the contract.” 
    Id. (citation omitted).
    Where the contract’s language is plain, the
    agreement should be enforced as written. 
    Id. (citation omitted).
      The arbitration clause in this case provides that “[a]ny
    dispute arising out of this agreement or relating to
    the services and equipment must be settled by arbitra-
    tion.” “Service(s)” means “any services [Gore has] asked
    [Alltel] to provide [Gore] through this agreement”; and
    “Equipment” refers to “any communication equipment
    or accessories [Gore] purchase[s] or lease[s] from [Alltel]
    or use[s] in any manner in connection with [Gore’s]
    Services.” The language is unambiguous: any dispute
    “arising out of” the Alltel Agreement or “relating to the
    services and equipment” that Gore asked for under
    that agreement must be arbitrated.
    We have previously said that “ ‘arising out of’ reaches
    all disputes having their origin or genesis in the contract,
    10                                               No. 11-2089
    whether or not they implicate interpretation or perfor-
    mance of the contract per se.” Sweet Dreams Unlimited,
    Inc. v. Dial-A-Mattress Int’l, Ltd., 
    1 F.3d 639
    , 642 (7th Cir.
    1993) (emphasis omitted). But “relating to” does not
    substantially broaden the scope of an arbitration clause
    containing “arising out of” language. See 
    id. (“[W]e do
    not
    believe that adding ‘relating to’ to ‘arising out of’ sub-
    stantially broadens the scope of the clause as applied to
    the present complaint.”). Even so, we read both “arising
    out of” and “relating to” broadly. E.g., 
    Kiefer, 174 F.3d at 909
    .
    In Kiefer, for example, we questioned whether such
    language appearing in distributorship agreements
    was broad enough to reach a dispute stemming from a
    breach of an employment agreement that did not have
    an arbitration provision but was executed as a condi-
    tion precedent to the distributorship agreements. 
    Kiefer, 174 F.3d at 908
    . There, we held that “[b]ecause a
    significant relationship exists between Kiefer’s claim of
    tortious interference and the arbitration provision con-
    tained in the parties’ distributorship agreements,” the
    dispute fell within the scope of the arbitration provision.
    
    Id. at 910-11.
    We characterized “arising out of or relating
    to” language as “extremely broad and capable of an
    expansive reach.” 
    Id. at 909.
    Such broad language “neces-
    sarily create[s] a presumption of arbitrability,” 
    id. at 910,
    which requires that “any doubts concerning the
    scope of arbitrable issues should be resolved in favor of
    arbitration.” Mercury 
    Constr., 460 U.S. at 24-25
    . With this
    presumption of arbitrability squarely in mind, we
    analyze each of Gore’s claims individually to determine
    No. 11-2089                                            11
    whether they are subject to arbitration. KPMG LLC v.
    Cocchi, 
    132 S. Ct. 23
    (2011) (per curiam) (“[C]ourts must
    examine a complaint with care to assess whether any
    individual claim must be arbitrated. The failure to do
    so is subject to immediate review.”).
    1.   Gore’s Individual Claims are Subject to Arbitra-
    tion
    Gore’s first claim is for breach of contract. He alleges
    that First Cellular and Alltel breached the First Cellular
    Agreement by making his GSM phone inoperable
    before that agreement expired, by not honoring its
    features and prices through expiration, and by seeking
    to enforce its early termination provision. It can fairly
    be said that Gore’s breach of contract claim relates only
    tangentially to the Alltel Agreement. Indeed, had Gore
    brought suit against First Cellular and alleged specific
    conduct by First Cellular alone in breach of the First
    Cellular Agreement, the Alltel Agreement’s arbitration
    clause arguably would not have applied. But Gore
    sued Alltel as First Cellular’s successor in interest, and
    his breach of contract claim is predicated on action taken
    by Alltel in connection with the services it provided
    him under the Alltel Agreement. The Alltel Agreement’s
    arbitration clause applies because Gore’s claims are
    based on Alltel’s rendering of his GSM phone inoperable
    and refusal to honor the terms of the agreement he
    made with First Cellular. Gore implicitly concedes that
    Alltel’s conduct is at the heart of his breach of contract
    claim by alleging that Alltel intended to fraudulently
    12                                            No. 11-2089
    induce members of the putative class to transition
    from First Cellular to Alltel. Gore’s breach of contract
    claim, as presently constituted, is predicated on the
    wireless services that he received under the Alltel Agree-
    ment not being in conformity with the services he was
    promised by First Cellular.
    Gore argues that this case should follow AGCO and
    Rosenblum. AGCO Corp. v. Anglin, 
    216 F.3d 589
    (7th Cir.
    2000); Rosenblum, 
    299 F.3d 657
    . We disagree. In both
    of those cases we were confronted with a similar
    issue, whether a dispute arising out of one agreement
    is subject to arbitration under a separate agreement’s
    arbitration clause, but our holdings depended on facts
    that were significantly different from those presented
    here. In those cases, the dispute at issue was one
    wholly arising out of a separate and independent agree-
    ment not containing an arbitration clause. Gore’s claims
    do not fit that mold.
    In AGCO, we held that an arbitrator exceeded its au-
    thority by arbitrating claims arising out of a contract
    that did not contain an arbitration clause, even though
    the claims related to the subject matter of a separate
    contract containing an arbitration provision. 
    AGCO, 216 F.3d at 596
    . In that case, Max and Gary Anglin per-
    sonally guarantied Silver Lake’s liabilities to Agricredit
    under a Retail Finance Agreement (“RFA”), but neither
    the guaranties nor the RFA provided for arbitration. 
    Id. at 591.
    AGCO agreed to finance Silver Lake, and the
    Anglins personally guarantied Silver Lake’s indebted-
    ness to AGCO. 
    Id. The AGCO
    guaranties contained a
    No. 11-2089                                                        13
    broad arbitration provision requiring arbitration of “all
    actions . . . arising out of or directly or indirectly relating to (a)
    this Guaranty.” 
    Id. (emphasis original).
    After AGCO
    acquired Agricredit, and Silver Lake defaulted on the
    RFAs, AGCO sought arbitration of the dispute between
    Agricredit and Silver Lake. 
    Id. at 592.
    The issue before the
    court was whether the arbitration clause in the AGCO
    guaranties encompassed a dispute over the Anglins’
    Agricredit guaranties. We found that “the arbitration
    clause did not seek to incorporate by reference any pro-
    visions of the [RFAs] . . . . [And] because the two compa-
    nies shared no corporate identity as of June 3, 1992, the
    Anglins had no reason to suspect that their arbitration
    agreement with AGCO would expand to encompass
    a dispute with Agricredit, a nonsignatory.” 
    Id. at 594
    (citation omitted). As a result, we held that the
    Agricredit guaranties were not subject to mandatory
    arbitration. 
    Id. at 595.
      We reached the same conclusion in Rosenblum despite
    different facts. 
    Rosenblum, 299 F.3d at 664
    . In that case,
    Michael Rosenblum and Travelbyus.com Ltd. executed
    an agreement for Travelbyus to purchase Rosenblum’s
    travel publication business. 
    Id. at 659.
    As a condition
    precedent to the acquisition agreement, the parties also
    executed an employment agreement, under which
    Rosenblum would remain employed at his former com-
    pany. 
    Id. at 660.
    The employment agreement contained
    a broad arbitration provision, mandating arbitration
    for “any matter in dispute under or relating to this Agree-
    ment.” 
    Id. The acquisition
    agreement did not have
    an arbitration provision. See 
    id. After Travelbyus
    breached the terms of the acquisition agreement, Rosen-
    14                                               No. 11-2089
    blum sued. See 
    id. Explaining that
    “[t]he parties’ deal
    consisted of two . . . contracts [that] are separate, and
    there is no indication that the parties intended that the
    terms of the Employment Agreement apply to disputes
    arising under the Acquisition Agreement,” we held that
    “[t]he arbitration clause cannot be read to include
    Mr. Rosenblum’s claims under the Acquisition Agree-
    ment.” 
    Id. at 663-64.
      This case is different from AGCO and Rosenblum
    because Gore’s breach of contract claim is interlinked
    with both the First Cellular Agreement and the Alltel
    Agreement. In AGCO, “the Anglins’ dispute involve[d]
    a third party, Agricredit, which [was] not a signatory to
    the arbitration agreement.” 
    AGCO, 216 F.3d at 594
    . And
    the contracts under review in Rosenblum were “both
    necessary, but self-contained . . . components of a com-
    prehensive business transaction. . . . The employment
    contract deal[t] exclusively with Mr. Rosenblum’s em-
    ployment . . . [and] the Acquisition Agreement con-
    cern[ed] the parties’ rights and duties with respect to . . .
    [the] sale.” 
    Rosenblum, 299 F.3d at 663
    . Because Gore
    alleges facts suggesting that his breach of contract claim
    is based on both Alltel’s and First Cellular’s conduct in
    providing him wireless services, we cannot say that the
    claim arises out of the First Cellular Agreement alone.
    Resolving, as we must, our doubt in favor of arbitrability,
    Mercury 
    Constr., 460 U.S. at 24-25
    , we find that Gore’s
    breach of contract claim falls within the scope of the
    Alltel Agreement’s arbitration clause.
    For the same reasons, Gore’s third, fourth, and fifth
    claims suffer the same fate as his first. His civil conspiracy
    No. 11-2089                                               15
    claim is predicated on an alleged agreement between
    First Cellular and Alltel to unlawfully funnel First
    Cellular customers into service agreements with Alltel.
    His aiding and abetting claim is based on First Cellular
    assisting Alltel with this allegedly fraudulent scheme.
    And his unjust enrichment claim seeks disgorgement of
    the profits that First Cellular and Allltel reaped as a
    product of the fraud. All of these claims implicate the
    services and equipment that Gore, and other members
    of the putative class, received under the Alltel Agree-
    ment. Given our broad reading of “arising out of and
    relating to,” we are confident that these claims also fall
    within the scope of the arbitration clause. Welborn Clinic
    v. MedQuist, Inc., 
    301 F.3d 634
    , 639 (7th Cir. 2002) (“[W]e
    have naturally been willing to read these admittedly
    expansive clauses quite broadly to include all manner
    of claims tangentially related to the agreement, in-
    cluding claims of fraud, misrepresentation, and other
    torts . . . .” (citing 
    Kiefer, 174 F.3d at 909
    -10)).
    2.   Gore’s Consumer Fraud Claim “Arises Out
    Of” the Alltel Agreement
    Gore’s second claim, however, is slightly different
    from the rest. Count II of his complaint alleges that
    First Cellular violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud and
    Deceptive Practices Act and the Uniform Deceptive
    Trade Practices Act by “requir[ing] GSM Sub-Class Mem-
    bers to purchase GSM phone and/or other equipment
    as part of the First Cellular Agreement . . . despite knowing
    [and not disclosing] that the phones/equipment and
    16                                              No. 11-2089
    wireless service under the Agreements would soon be
    rendered inoperable or ineffective by the transition of
    the GSM network.” This allegation, on its face, relates
    only to First Cellular’s allegedly fraudulent conduct.
    But digging deeper into the particularized factual allega-
    tions of the fraud shows the claim is inextricably linked
    to the services he received under the Alltel Agreement.
    First, the omission that Gore insists First Cellular had
    a duty to disclose was its intention to transition the
    GSM users to the Alltel network post-acquisition. Sec-
    ond, Gore alleges that Alltel acquired First Cellular
    with an intent to breach the First Cellular Agreements
    without compensating the GSM users, and with an intent
    to “impos[e] additional fees, charges, and expenses . . .
    in excess of those permitted under the First Cellular
    Agreements.” Finally, Gore alleges that Alltel required the
    putative class members to enter into “new wireless agree-
    ments on less-favorable terms” and “threatened [the
    class members] that if they did not purchase the new
    equipment and/or enter into the less-favorable ex-
    tended service contracts with Alltel . . ., [they] would be
    charged an early termination fee of $250.” But for
    Alltel’s conduct in transitioning the First Cellular cus-
    tomers to the Alltel network and allegedly forcing the
    First Cellular customers to enter into the less-favorable
    Alltel Agreement, Gore’s consumer fraud claim would
    be a simple breach of contract claim. As we have made
    clear in the past, “Whether a particular claim is arbitrable
    depends not upon the characterization of the claim,
    but upon the relationship of the claim to the subject
    matter of the arbitration clause. Were the rule otherwise,
    No. 11-2089                                               17
    a party could frustrate any agreement to arbitrate
    simply by the manner in which it framed its claims.” In
    re Oil Spill by the “Amoco Cadiz” off the Coast of France
    March 16, 1978, 
    659 F.2d 789
    , 794 (7th Cir. 1981). Given the
    substance of Gore’s factual allegations, his consumer
    fraud claim is one arising out of or relating to the Alltel
    Agreement. That claim too must therefore be arbitrated.
    B. The Arbitrator Must Decide if the Agreement is
    Unconscionable
    The only other issue is whether application of the
    arbitration clause to this dispute is procedurally uncon-
    scionable. This issue, however, is one properly resolved
    by the arbitrator in the first instance because Gore
    attacks as unconscionable the entire Alltel Agreement,
    not just the arbitration clause itself. See Prima Paint Corp.
    v. Flood & Conklin Mfg., 
    388 U.S. 395
    , 403-04 (1967) (“[I]f
    the claim is fraud in the inducement of the arbitration
    clause itself—an issue which goes to the ‘making’ of the
    agreement to arbitrate—the federal court may proceed to
    adjudicate it. But the statutory language does not permit
    the federal court to consider claims of fraud in the in-
    ducement of the contract generally. . . . [A] federal court
    may consider only issues relating to the making and
    performance of the agreement to arbitrate.”). Gore’s oral
    argument confirmed his broad challenge to the Alltel
    Agreement as a whole. Faced with a similar challenge
    in Sweet Dreams, we followed the Supreme Court’s
    holding in Prima 
    Paint, 388 U.S. at 403-04
    , and ordered
    that the dispute be resolved by the arbitrator. Sweet
    18                                                 No. 11-2089
    
    Dreams, 1 F.3d at 641
    . The same result must obtain
    here. Because Gore is challenging as procedurally uncon-
    scionable the entire Alltel Agreement, not just the arbitra-
    tion clause itself, we remand this case to the district
    court to stay the proceedings pending arbitration.1
    III. CONCLUSION
    For the above-stated reasons, the district court’s denial
    of the Alltel’s motion to compel arbitration is R EVERSED
    and this case is R EMANDED for further proceedings con-
    sistent with this opinion.
    1
    Alltel also appealed the district court’s expansive discovery
    order, but counsel for Gore conceded at oral argument that
    the district court should have limited discovery to the
    narrow issue of the arbitration clause’s enforceability and
    applicability to the present dispute. Because we reverse the
    district court’s denial of Alltel’s motion to compel arbitra-
    tion, we need not address the scope of the discovery order.
    1-19-12