VALERIE KLOOSTERMAN v. METROPOLITAN HOSPITAL, dba University of Michigan Health-West, dba Metro Health-University of Michigan Health; RAKESH PAI, individually and in his official capacity as President, Medical Group & Chief Population Health Officer at University of Michigan Health-West; RHAE-ANN BOOK, individually and in her official capacity as Vice President of Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion at University of Michigan Health-West; MARIA COLE, individually and in her official capacity as Director of Human Resources at University of Michigan Health- West; THOMAS PIERCE, individually and in his official capacity as Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Coordinator at University of Michigan Health-West; CATHERINE SMITH, individually and in her official capacity as a member of the Advanced Practice Providers’ Council at University of Michigan Health-West - Articles

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VALERIE KLOOSTERMAN v. METROPOLITAN HOSPITAL, dba University of Michigan Health-West, dba Metro Health-University of Michigan Health; RAKESH PAI, individually and in his official capacity as President, Medical Group & Chief Population Health Officer at University of Michigan Health-West; RHAE-ANN BOOK, individually and in her official capacity as Vice President of Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion at University of Michigan Health-West; MARIA COLE, individually and in her official capacity as Director of Human Resources at University of Michigan Health- West; THOMAS PIERCE, individually and in his official capacity as Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Coordinator at University of Michigan Health-West; CATHERINE SMITH, individually and in her official capacity as a member of the Advanced Practice Providers’ Council at University of Michigan Health-West

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Aug 27, 2025

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ARGUED: Kevin Wynosky, CLEMENT & MURPHY, PLLC, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellant.

Attorneys 2: ARGUED: Jonathon A. Rabin, HALL RENDER KILLIAN HEATH & LYMAN, P.C., Troy, Michigan, for Appellees.

Attorneys 3: ON BRIEF: Kevin Wynosky, CLEMENT & MURPHY, PLLC, Alexandria, Virginia, Jeffrey C. Mateer, David J. Hacker, Doug Peterson, Roger L. Byron, FIRST LIBERTY INSTITUTE, Plano, Texas, Kayla A. Toney, FIRST LIBERTY INSTITUTE, Washington, D.C., for Appellant.

Attorneys 4: ON BRIEF: Jonathon A. Rabin, Larry R. Jensen, HALL RENDER KILLIAN HEATH & LYMAN, P.C., Troy, Michigan, for Appellees.

Attorneys 5: ON BRIEF: Ilya Shapiro, Tim Rosenberger, MANHATTAN INSTITUTE, New York, New York, Brian T. Goldman, HOLWELL SHUSTER & GOLDBERG LLP, New York, New York, Anthony J. Powell, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF KANSAS, Topeka, Kansas, John Eidsmoe, FOUNDATION FOR MORAL LAW, Gallant, Alabama, Andrew Gould, HOLTZMAN VOGEL BARAN TORCHINSKY & JOSEFIAK, PLLC, Phoenix, Arizona, John M. Reeves, REEVES LAW LLC, St. Louis, Missouri, Philip J. Loree Jr., THE LOREE LAW FIRM, New York, New York, for Amici Curiae.

Judge(s): United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan at Grand Rapids

Court Appealed: MURPHY, DAVIS, and BLOOMEKATZ, Circuit Judges

MURPHY, Circuit Judge. Valerie Kloosterman sued her former hospital employer and several of its officials under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, Title VII, and Michigan law. The hospital defendants repeatedly asked the district court to dismiss all of Kloosterman’s claims on the merits. But the court declined to dismiss several of them. Only at that point—after a year of litigation and after the defendants got a preview of how the merits might progress in court—did they seek to arbitrate. We conclude that this request came too late, primarily because the defendants sought to avoid arbitration altogether by asking for a complete judicial victory. Specifically, we hold that the defendants lost their right to arbitrate under the Federal Arbitration Act because their conduct put them “in default in proceeding with [their requested] arbitration.” 9 U.S.C. § 3. We thus reverse the district court’s decision to dismiss this suit in favor of arbitration.

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