Full opinion text
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION MARK R. KRAVITZ, District Judge. Arbitration is currently one of the most important issues in the federal courts. During October Term 2009, the United States Supreme Court decided a total of ninety-two merits cases, see Final Stats OT09, SCOTUSblog.com, http://www. scotusblog.com/wpcontent/uploads/2010/07/ Final-Stats-OT09-0707101.pdf (July 17, 2010), and four of the ninety-two merits cases presented arbitration-related questions. See Granite Rock Co. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, — U.S. -, 130 S.Ct. 2847, 2853,177 L.Ed.2d 567 (2010); Rent-A-Center West, Inc. v. Jackson, - U.S. -, 130 S.Ct. 2772, 2775, 177 L.Ed.2d 403 (2010); Stolt-Nielsen S.A. v. AnimalFeeds International Corp., — U.S. -, 130 S.Ct. 1758, 1764, 176 L.Ed.2d 605 (2010); Union Pacific Railroad Co. v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, — U.S. -, 130 S.Ct. 584, 591, 175 L.Ed.2d 428 (2009). Three of those four cases presented issues specifically related to the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq. See Granite Rock, 130 S.Ct. at 2857; Rent-A-Center, 130 S.Ct. at 2775; Stolt-Nielsen, 130 S.Ct. at 1764. The United States Supreme Court decided yet another FAA case this past April, see AT & T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, — U.S. -, 131 S.Ct. 1740, 1744, 179 L.Ed.2d 742 (2011), and it will hear at least two more FAA cases during its next Term. See CompuCredit Corp. v. Greenwood, — U.S.-, 131 S.Ct. 2874, -, 179 L.Ed.2d 1187, 2011 WL 220683, at *1 (2011) (granting petition for certiorari); Stok & Associates, PA v. Citibank, NA — U.S. -, 131 S.Ct. 1556, 1556, 179 L.Ed.2d 299 (2011) (granting petition for certiorari). The case pending before this Court presents difficult questions regarding the formation and enforceability of an arbitration agreement in a unique factual context. According to Plaintiffs, Defendants Service Road Corp. (“Service Road”) and Cousin Vinnie’s Back Room, Inc. (“Cousin Vinnie’s”) own and operate the Gold Club and the Gold Club Connection — together, “the Clubs” — in Groton, Connecticut. The Gold Club is a bar that features topless female dancers as entertainment; the Gold Club Connection is an nightclub that features fully nude female dancers as entertainment. Plaintiffs Dina Nicole D’Antuono, Ramona P. Cruz, and Karen Vilnit are exotic dancers who have performed at the Clubs — the Court uses the phrase exotic dancers throughout this Memorandum of Decision because that is the phrase that Plaintiffs use to describe their occupation in the Complaint. See Compl. [doc. # 1] ¶ 1. When they performed at the Clubs, Plaintiffs were classified as tenants who rented performance space from the Clubs. See Tab 1 to First Genna Deck [doc. # 13-1] at 5. They allege that they were really the Clubs’ employees, and they seek both unpaid wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., and other damages under Connecticut employment laws. Service Road and Vinnie’s have filed a Motion to Dismiss and/or Stay this Action; to Compel Arbitration; and to Strike Class and Collective Action Allegations [doc. # 12] from Plaintiffs’ Complaint [doc. # 1]. For the reasons set forth below, Defendants’ motion is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. The Court DENIES Defendants’ motion insofar as it seeks an order to compel Ms. Cruz to arbitrate her claims against Defendants, since there is nothing in the record before the Court to show that she even implicitly agreed to arbitration. However, the Court GRANTS Defendants’ motion insofar as it seeks an order to compel Ms. D’Antuono and Ms. Vilnit to arbitrate their claims against Defendants, and on an individual basis rather than on a collective or class basis. Ms. D’Antuono and Ms. Vilnit undisputedly agreed to arbitration. In light of Defendants’ concession that they will not seek to enforce the two most objectionable provisions in the arbitration agreement, see Notice [doc. # 52], the Court concludes that there is no ground under either Connecticut law or under the federal common law of arbitrability that permits the Court to invalidate Ms. D’Antuono’s or Ms. Vilnit’s agreement, including the provision requiring them to arbitrate their claims on an individual basis. As a result of the Court’s decision, Plaintiffs’ Motion for Clarification [doc. # 53] is also DENIED as moot. I. The Court sets forth only those facts that are necessary for purposes of resolving the pending motion. According to Plaintiffs’ Complaint as well as various declarations filed in opposition to the pending motion, Ms. D’Antuono performed at the Clubs from December 2007 until February 2010, see D’Antuono Deck [doc. # 26-2] ¶ 1; Ms. Cruz performed at the Clubs from August 2008 until December 2008, see Cruz Deck [doc. # 26-4] ¶ 1; and Ms. Vilnit performed at the Clubs from December 2007 until November 2009, see Vilnit Deck [doc. # 26-3] ¶ 1. Defendants assert in support of the pending motion that it is their “normal business practice to have [every exotic dancer] execute a ... Lease” setting forth the terms of the relationship between the exotic dancer and the Clubs. First Genna Deck [doc. # 13-1] ¶ 6. Defendants further claim that it is their policy to always “explain to the [exotic dancer] that [the Lease] ... governs the relationship between [the exotic dancer] and the [C]lubs.” Bergeron Deck [doc. # 38-1] ¶ 4. Ms. D’Antuono, who began performing at the Clubs in December 2007, signed an “Entertainment Lease” (“Lease”) on November 4, 2008. Tab 1 to First Genna Deck [doc. # 13-1] at 5, 8. However, according to Ms. D’Antuono’s declaration, November 4, 2008 was the first day that anyone at the Clubs ever asked her to sign a Lease. See D’Antuono Deck [doc. # 26-2] ¶ 5. On that date, during the middle of Ms. D’Antuono’s performance shift, manager Miranda Bergeron asked Ms. D’Antuono to accompany her to the Clubs’ office to update her paperwork. See id. Ms. Bergeron told Ms. D’Antuono that the Lease stated that Ms. D’Antuono was a subcontractor of the Clubs and worked for herself. See id. ¶ 6. Ms. D’Antuono signed the Lease and left the office to continue performing within five minutes after she arrived. See id. ¶ 8. Ms. Vilnit, who also began performing at the Clubs in December 2007, signed the same form Lease on September 17, 2008, about two months before Ms. D’Antuono. See Tab 1 to First Genna Deck [doc. # 13-1] at 10, 13. According to Ms. Vilnit, September 17, 2008 was the first day that anyone at the Clubs ever asked her to sign a Lease. See Vilnit Deck [doc. #26-3] ¶¶ 4-7. On that date, during the middle of Ms. Vilnit’s performance shift, Ms. Berger-on asked Ms. Vilnit to accompany her to the Clubs’ office to complete tax-related paperwork. See id. ¶¶ 4-5. Ms. Bergeron presented Ms. Vilnit with the Lease, and Ms. Vilnit signed it quickly and left the office to continue performing within five minutes after she arrived. See id. ¶ 7. Ms. Cruz, who began performing at the Clubs in August 2008, never signed a Lease. According to Ms. Cruz, she showed up at one of the Clubs and was allowed to start performing the very same day. See Cruz Decl. [doc. # 26-4] ¶ 3. All that she was required to do was to show her identification, and fill out a form asking for her legal name, her stage name, and her home address. No one — not Ms. Bergeron or anyone else — ever asked her to sign the Lease or any other contract. See id. ¶¶ 2-3. Defendants contend that Ms. Cruz never actually performed at the Clubs, and point out that she is named as a plaintiff in several similar cases pending before other courts, some involving the same plaintiffs’ lawyers. See Bergeron Decl. [doc. # 38-1] ¶ 10 (asserting that no one at the Clubs remembers Ms. Cruz). To the extent that there is a dispute about whether Ms. Cruz actually performed at the Clubs, that dispute is not related to the pending motion, but instead goes to the merits of this case. For the time being, the Court need not consider whether she actually performed at the Clubs for a brief period at the end of 2008, as she alleges. Defendants have not provided the Court with any admissible materials that contradict Ms. D’Antuono’s and Ms. Vilnit’s accounts of the circumstances under which they signed the Lease. Ms. Bergeron recalls presenting copies of the Lease to Ms. D’Antuono and Ms. Vilnit, and while she insists that it was not her intention to present the Lease in a “rushed or coercive manner,” she does not contest that both signed the Lease within five minutes after she first showed it to them. Bergeron Decl. [doc. # 38-1] ¶¶ 5-7. Paul Genna, an officer of Service Road and Cousin Vinnie’s, recalls that he received a telephone call from one of his managers asking if Ms. Vilnit could have permission to take a copy of the Lease home before she signed it, so that she could have an attorney review it. See Second Genna Decl. [doc. # 38-2] ¶ 4. Mr. Genna recalls that he told the manager that Ms. Vilnit could indeed take the Lease home if she wished, but does not recall whether Ms. Vilnit actually took the Lease home. See id. Mr. Genna’s recollection is not inconsistent with Ms. Berger-on’s or Ms. Vilnit’s declaration. See Vilnit Decl. [doc. # 26-3] ¶ 7. Neither Ms. Bergeron nor Mr. Genna contests that Ms. D’Antuono and Ms. Vilnit were first shown the Lease and were first asked to sign the Lease nearly after a year after they first began performing at the Clubs. Mr. Genna baldly asserts that the Clubs had a policy of not permitting any exotic dancer to perform unless she first agreed to the terms of the Lease. See First Genna Decl. [doc. # 13-1] ¶ 6. But Defendants have not introduced any materials to show how the Clubs went about obtaining exotic dancers’ consent to the terms of the Lease. There is no evidence that, for example, a copy of the Lease was posted in the exotic dancers’ dressing room, or that the text of the Lease was included in any handbook or other document that was provided to new exotic dancers when they first arrived at the Clubs. Thus, Defendants’ assertion that their “normal business practice” was to have all exotic dancers sign copies of the Lease, First Genna Decl. [doc. # 13-1] ¶ 6, is not consistent with any of the specific factual assertions made by either Plaintiffs or Defendants. The only concrete factual allegations before the Court show that the Clubs allowed at least two exotic dancers to perform for a year before showing them a copy of the Lease or asking them to sign a copy of the Lease, and that one exotic dancer who performed at the Clubs for several months never signed the Lease. The four-page form Lease — which Ms. D’Antuono admittedly signed on November 4, 2008 and which Ms. Vilnit also admittedly signed on September 17, 2008— indicates that the agreement between the exotic dancer and the Clubs is to take effect on the date the Lease is signed. See Tab 1 to First Genna Decl. [doc. # 13-1] at 5. It indicates that the agreement is to end at the latest one year from the date when the Lease is signed. See id. The Lease specifies that it creates a landlord-tenant relationship, rather than an employment relationship: the exotic dancer will rent the stage and other performance spaces in the Clubs, and may collect tips and payments directly from the Clubs’ customers. See id. The Lease specifies that the Clubs will not pay the exotic dancer any hourly wage, any overtime pay, or any benefits. See id. The Lease specifies that if the exotic dancer were an employee rather than a tenant, then the customer fees would be the Clubs’ property rather than the exotic dancer’s own property. See id. It further indicates that “if any court, tribunal, arbitrator, or governmental agency determines that the relationship between the parties is something other than that of landlord/tenant and that [the exotic dancer] is ... entitled to the payment of wages from the Club[s],” the exotic dancer must pay back customer fees to the Clubs. See id. at 5-6. The Lease also contains an arbitration clause on the last page. See id. at 8. Most of the arbitration clause is either in boldface type, in capital letters, or underlined — sometimes all three. See id. The Court reproduces the arbitration clause in its entirety below: 21. Arbitration/Attorney Fees and Costs/Waiver of Class Action. ANY CONTROVERSY, DISPUTE, OR CLAIM ARISING OUT OF THIS LEASE OR OTHERWISE OUT OF ENTERTAINER PERFORMING AT THE PREMISES OF THE CLUB, SHALL BE EXCLUSIVELY DECIDED BY BINDING ARBITRATION UNDER THE FEDERAL ARBITRATION ACT, IN CONFORMITY WITH RULES AND PROCEDURES AS ESTABLISHED BY THE AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION AND AS MAY BE MODIFIED BY ANY STATE ARBITRATION ACT. Any judgment or award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. Any judgment, order, or ruling arising out of a dispute between the parties shall award costs incurred for the proceedings and reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party. ENTERTAINER AGREES THAT ALL CLAIMS BETWEEN HER AND THE CLUB WILL BE LITIGATED INDIVIDUALLY AND THAT SHE WILL NOT CONSOLIDATE OR SEEK CLASS TREATMENT FOR A CLAIM. ENTERTAINER FURTHER AGREES NOT TO COMMENCE ANY ACTION, SUIT OR ARBITRATION PROCEEDING RELATING, IN ANY MANNER WHATSOEVER, TO THIS LEASE OR TO HER PERFORMING AT THE PREMISES OF THE CLUB, MORE THAN SIX MONTHS AFTER SHE LAST PERFORMED AT THE PREM ISES, AND FURTHER AGREES TO WAIVE ANY STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS TO THE CONTRARY. This paragraph 21 survives termination of this Lease. Id. The blank spaces provided for the exotic dancer’s signature and for the signature of the Clubs’ representative appear only a few lines below the arbitration clause. See id. The Lease also contains a comprehensive severability clause on the final page. The Court the severability clause in its entirety below: 20. Severability. In the event that any term, paragraph, subparagraph, or portion of this Lease is declared to be illegal or unenforceable, this Lease shall, to the extent possible, be interpreted as if that provision was not a part of this Lease; it being the intent of the parties that any illegal or unenforceable portion of this Lease, to the extent possible, be severable from this Lease as a whole. However, in the circumstance of a judicial, arbitration, or administrative determination that the business relationship between Entertainer and the Club is something other that that of landlord and tenant, Entertainer and the Club shall be governed by the provisions of subparagraph 12C. Id. As the severability clause is also on the last page of the Lease, the blank spaces provided for the exotic dancer’s signature and for the signature of the Clubs’ representative appear only a few lines below the severability clause. See id. Plaintiffs filed their Complaint in this Court on January 6, 2011. Their primary allegation, as the Court has already mentioned, is that they were employees rather than tenants or independent contractors when they performed at the Clubs, and were therefore owed the minimum wage. See Compl. [doc. # 1] ¶ 14. They also appear to believe that the provision of the Lease that requires them to repay the fees they received from the Clubs customers if a court finds them to have been employees of the Clubs violates Connecticut law. See Mem. in Opp’n [doc. # 26] at 28. However, that particular issue is not specifically raised in the Complaint. Defendants filed the pending Motion to Dismiss and/or Stay this Action; to Compel Arbitration; and to Strike Class and Collective Action Allegations on January 28, 2011. After the motion was filed, the Second Circuit issued its decision in In re American Express Merchants’ Litigation (“American Express II”), 634 F.3d 187 (2d Cir.2011). In light of that decision, the Court directed Defendants to specifically address that decision in their reply brief and permitted Plaintiffs to file a sur-reply. See Order [doc. #29]. The week before oral argument, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in AT & T Mobility, 131 S.Ct. at 1740. In advance of oral argument, the Court ordered both parties to be prepared to discuss the possible impact of that decision on this case. See Order [doc. # 47], At oral argument, the Court attempted to clarify Defendants’ position regarding whether they planned to enforce two of the three features of the arbitration clause Plaintiffs take issue with: the cost- and fee-shifting provision, and the provision requiring that all arbitration claims be brought no later than six months after a dancer’s final performance at the Clubs. See Tab 1 to First Genna Decl. [doc. # 13-1] at 8. The Court did not get a clear answer from Defendants’ counsel at oral argument. The Court therefore issued an Order [doc. # 50] directing Defendants to give the Court a yes or no answer regarding whether it intended to enforce those two provisions in an arbitration. On May 23, 2011, Defendants filed a Notice [doc. # 52] in which they unequivocally concede that they will not enforce those two provisions against Plaintiffs. II. At the outset, the Court must consider the issue of subject-matter jurisdiction. Defendants argued in passing in their memorandum in support of the pending motion that because Ms. D’Antuono, Ms. Cruz, and Ms. Vilnit have agreed to arbitrate any disputes with Defendants, this Court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction over the federal law and state law claims in Plaintiffs’ Complaint. See Mem. in Supp. [doc. # 13] at 5-6. Defendants’ argument regarding subject-matter jurisdiction is baseless. As a general matter, the FAA does not grant subject-matter jurisdiction to federal district courts. It does, however, provide that “[a] party aggrieved by the alleged failure ... of another to arbitrate under a written agreement may petition any United States district court which, save for such agreement, would have [subject-matter] jurisdiction ... in a civil action ... arising out of the controversy between the parties,” for an order compelling arbitration. 9 U.S.C. § 4. Under that provision, a party that wishes to have an arbitration agreement enforced may instate a federal court proceeding and ask the court to require the other party to comply with the agreement. See, e.g., Carrington Capital Management, LLC v. Spring Investment Service, Inc., 347 Fed. Appx. 628, 629 (2d Cir.2009) (summary order). This case does not implicate that particular provision. It was Plaintiffs — who do not believe that the arbitration agreement at issue here is enforceable — who initiated this case by filing their Complaint. This Court has subject-matter jurisdiction over the federal law claims in that Complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331, and subject-matter jurisdiction over the state law claims in that Complaint pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1367(a). While the FAA may require the Court to enforce the disputed arbitration agreement as a matter of contract, see 9 U.S.C. § 2, Defendants have provided no authority to support the proposition that a valid arbitration agreement divests a federal court of its subject-matter jurisdiction. It would be odd if a valid arbitration agreement could have that effect, as “arbitration is simply a [private] matter of contract between the parties.” Stolt-Nielsen, 130 S.Ct. at 1774. The Court notes that at oral argument, Plaintiffs’ counsel suggested that this action could not have initially been brought in state court because it involves a federal law claim. That suggestion is also erroneous. As a general matter, state courts and federal courts have concurrent jurisdiction over all federal law claims, and FLSA claims are no different. See 29 U.S.C. § 216(b) (providing that an FLSA claim can be maintained “in any Federal or State court of competent jurisdiction”). A plaintiff may sue on a federal law claim either in federal court or state court. That said, if Plaintiffs had filed this action in state court, Defendants may or may not have elected to exercise their right remove the case to federal court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a). III. The FAA “reflects the fundamental principle that arbitration is a matter of contract.” Rent-A-Center, 130 S.Ct. at 2776; see Stolt-Nielsen, 130 S.Ct. at 1773. The FAA “places arbitration agreements on an equal footing with other contracts, and requires courts to enforce them according to their terms.” Rent-A-Center, 130 S.Ct. at 2776; see also New River Electrical Corp. v. Blakeslee Arpaia Chapman, Inc., No. 3:09cv192 (MRK), 2009 WL 5111566, at *2 (D.Conn. Dec. 17, 2009); Ferguson v. United Health Care, No. 3:08ev1389 (MRK), 2008 WL 5246145, at *2 (D.Conn. Dec. 17, 2008). “Like other contracts ... [arbitration agreements] may be invalidated by ‘generally applicable contract defenses, such as fraud, duress, or unconscionability.’ ” Rent-A-Center, 130 S.Ct. at 2776 (citation omitted); see 9 U.S.C. § 2 (providing that arbitration agreements may be invalidated “upon such grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract”); AT & T Mobility, 131 S.Ct. at 1746. Employment contracts that include arbitration clauses are not exempt from the FAA’s provisions, see Ferguson, 2008 WL 5246145, at *2 (citing Circuit City Stores v. Adams, 532 U.S. 105, 119, 121 S.Ct. 1302, 149 L.Ed.2d 234 (2001)), and the parties appear to agree that both FLSA claims and state employment law claims may be arbitrated. See Carter v. Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc., 362 F.3d 294, 297 (5th Cir.2004); Kuehner v. Dickinson & Co., 84 F.3d 316, 319-20 (9th Cir.1996). It is well settled that “whether parties have agreed to ‘submit[ ] a particular dispute to arbitration is typically an issue for judicial determination.’ ” Granite Rock, 130 S.Ct. at 2855 (citation omitted). “To satisfy itself that [an] agreement [to arbitrate] exists, [a] court must resolve any issue that calls into question the formation or applicability of the specific arbitration clause that a party seeks to have the court enforce.” Id. at 2856. Whether a particular arbitration agreement is invalid, revocable, or unenforceable is also an issue for judicial determination. See Buckeye Check Cashing, Inc. v. Cardegna, 546 U.S. 440, 445-46, 126 S.Ct. 1204, 163 L.Ed.2d 1038 (2006). That said, “as a matter of substantive federal arbitration law, an arbitration provision is severable from the remainder of the contract.” Id. at 445, 126 S.Ct. 1204. Thus, “unless the challenge is to the [enforceability of the] arbitration clause itself, the issue of the contract’s validity is [usually] considered by the arbitrator....” Id. at 445-46, 126 S.Ct. 1204; see JLM Industries v. Stolt-Nielsen SA, 387 F.3d 163, 170 & n. 5 (2d Cir.2004). The standard this Court must apply when reviewing a motion to compel arbitration is essentially the same standard that the Court applies when it reviews a motion for summary judgment. See Bensadoun v. Jobe-Riat, 316 F.3d 171, 175 (2d Cir.2003); see, e.g., DuBois v. Macy’s East, Inc., 338 Fed.Appx. 32, 33 (2d Cir.2009) (summary order). The party seeking an order compelling arbitration must “substantiate [its] entitlement [to arbitration] by a showing of evidentiary facts” that support its claim that the other party agreed to arbitration. Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. v. Neidhardt, 56 F.3d 352, 358 (2d Cir.1995). If the party seeking to compel arbitration makes such an evidentiary showing, the party opposing arbitration “may not rest on a denial but must submit evidentiary facts showing that there is a dispute of fact to be tried” as to the making of the arbitration agreement. Id. “If there is an issue of fact as to the making of the agreement for arbitration, then a trial [on that issue] is necessary.” Bensadoun, 316 F.3d at 175; see 9 U.S.C. § 4. “Only when there is no genuine issue of fact concerning the formation of the agreement should the court decide as a matter of law that the parties did or did not enter into such an agreement.” Par-Knit Mills, Inc. v. Stockbridge Fabrics Co., Ltd., 636 F.2d 51, 54 (3d Cir.1980); see Bensadoun v. Jobe-Riat, 316 F.3d at 175 (citing Par-Knit Mills as setting forth the standard of review applicable when reviewing a motion to compel arbitration); Sutherland v. Ernst & Young, LLP, 768 F.Supp.2d 547, 549-50 (S.D.N.Y.2011). This Court does not need to hold an evidentiary hearing to resolve purely legal issues that are raised in the context of a motion for summary judgment. See DaimlerChrysler Insurance Co. v. Pambianchi, 762 F.Supp.2d 410, 418-19 (D.Conn.2011). Similarly, when a party opposes a motion to compel arbitration on the ground that the arbitration agreement at issue is revocable “upon such grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract,” 9 U.S.C. § 2, the Court may make its own legal finding as to the enforceability of the agreement. American Express II, 634 F.3d at 198; see, e.g., Sutherland, 768 F.Supp.2d at 549-50 (finding as a matter of law that an arbitration clause in an employment contract was unenforceable). The party opposing enforcement has the burden showing that the arbitration agreement is unenforceable. See American Express II, 634 F.3d at 191 (citing Green Tree Financial Corp.-Alabama v. Randolph, 531 U.S. 79, 92, 121 S.Ct. 513, 148 L.Ed.2d 373 (2000)). IV. The issues in this case relate to both the formation of an agreement to arbitrate, see Granite Rock, 130 S.Ct. at 2855, and the enforceability of the agreement to arbitrate. See Buckeye Check Cashing, 546 U.S. at 445-46, 126 S.Ct. 1204. The issues in the case relating to the formation of the agreement are reasonably straightforward. The materials in the record permit no conclusion other than that Mr. D’Antuono and Ms. Vilnit agreed to arbitration — they appear to concede as much in their briefs, though their counsel would not make that concession at the oral argument. Ms. Cruz did not. Thus, Ms. Cruz need not arbitrate her claims against Defendants and is not bound by any provision in the Lease. The enforceability-related issues, on the other hand, were at the outset significantly more difficult. Plaintiffs object to three specific features of the Lease’s arbitration clause. First, in light of the potential costs associated with arbitration before the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) and the allegedly low amount of damages they each seek individually, they object to the provision of the arbitration clause that purports to waive Plaintiffs’ right to proceed against Defendants via collective actions and class actions. See Tab 1 to First Genna Decl. [doc. # 13-1] at 8. (“ENTERTAINER AGREES THAT ALL CLAIMS BETWEEN HER AND THE CLUB WILL BE LITIGATED INDIVIDUALLY AND THAT SHE WILL NOT CONSOLIDATE OR SEEK CLASS TREATMENT FOR A CLAIM.”). Second, they object to the cost- and fee-shifting provision in the arbitration clause. See id. (“Any judgment, order, or ruling arising out of a dispute between the parties shall award costs incurred for the proceedings and reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party.”). Third, they object to a provision that requires that all claims against Defendants, either in a court or before an arbitrator, be filed with six month after a exotic dancer’s final performance at the Clubs. See id. {“ENTERTAINER FURTHER AGREES NOT TO COMMENCE ANY ACTION, SUIT OR ARBITRATION PROCEEDING RELATING, IN ANY MANNER WHATSOEVER, TO THIS LEASE OR TO HER PERFORMING AT THE PREMISES OF THE CLUB, MORE THAN SIX MONTHS AFTER SHE LAST PERFORMED AT THE PREMISES, AND FURTHER AGREES TO WAIVE ANY STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS TO THE CONTRARY.”). They appear to object to all three of those features on both state and federal law grounds. Plaintiffs argue that those three features, taken together, require the Court to invalidate the arbitration agreement and instead allow them to proceed in a collective or class action in this Court. While an arbitration clause is generally severable from the contract in which it appears, see Granite Rock, 130 S.Ct. at 2857, it is true that a court’s invalidation of specific provisions within an arbitration clause may in some cases require invalidation of the entire arbitration agreement. See Fensterstock v. Education Finance Partners, 611 F.3d 124, 134 (2d Cir.2010), overruled in part by AT & T Mobility, 131 S.Ct. at 1753. This is because arbitration is a matter of contract, and “parties are generally free to structure their arbitration agreements as they see fit.” Stolt-Nielsen, 130 S.Ct. at 1774 (quotation marks and citation omitted). A court generally cannot require parties to submit to arbitration procedures with which they never agreed to comply. See id. at 1775 (holding that “a party may not be compelled under the FAA to submit to class arbitration unless there is a contractual basis for concluding that the party agreed to do so”). Of course, it may be permissible for a court to invalidate some non-essential provisions in an arbitration agreement, sever those provisions, and require arbitration under a modified agreement. The Supreme Court’s decision in Stolt-Nielsen S.A. v. AnimalFeeds International Corp., 130 S.Ct. at 1758, and the Second Circuit’s decision in Fensterstock v. Education Finance Partners, 611 F.3d 124, both stand only for the limited proposition that parties may not be required to submit to class arbitration when they have not agreed to that type of arbitration procedure. See, e.g., Stolt-Nielsen, 130 S.Ct. at 1776 (explaining why a class action mechanism would bring “fundamental changes” to the arbitration project). Neither of those cases necessarily implies a rule that if any provision in an arbitration agreement cannot be enforced as a matter of law, the entire agreement must fall. Plaintiffs rely on both state law and federal law to support their position. As the Court explains in further detail in the discussion below, there is virtually no Connecticut case law to support Plaintiffs’ views. But there are many, many federal law precedents — and in particular, Second Circuit precedents — that support Plaintiffs’ position in this case. In American Express II, the Second Circuit established a standard under which district courts may invalidate arbitration agreements containing collective and class action waiver provisions on a case-by-case basis. See 634 F.3d at 197 (citing Green Tree Financial, 531 U.S. at 92, 121 S.Ct. 513). In Ragone v. Atlantic Video at Manhattan Center, 595 F.3d 115 (2d Cir.2010), the Second Circuit stated that an arbitration clause containing both a provision shortening the statute of limitations and a cost- and fee-shifting provision might “significantly diminish a litigant’s [statutory] rights,” and thus might be invalid. Id. at 125-26 (“Had the defendants attempted to enforce the arbitration agreement as originally written it is not clear that we would hold in then-favor.”). The Court knows of no cases from inside the Second Circuit or elsewhere in which a class action waiver provision, a cost- and fee-shifting provision, and a provision altering the statute of limitations were combined in one arbitration agreement. The fact that the arbitration clause at issue here combined some of the features which led the Second Circuit to strike down the arbitration agreement in American Express II with some of the different features which caused the Second Circuit considerable concern in Ragone make this a particularly difficult case. Further complicating matters, just days before the oral argument in this case, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in AT & T Mobility, — U.S. -, 131 S.Ct. 1740, 179 L.Ed.2d 742. Regardless of one’s views about the wisdom of that decision, see Marcia Coyle, A Business Win in “AT & T”, National Law Journal, May 2, 2011, at 17 (presenting views on both sides), it would be hard to dispute that AT & T Mobility and other recent United States Supreme Court decisions represent a shift in the federal law regarding the enforceability of arbitration agreements. See AT & T Mobility, 131 S.Ct. at 1747 (discussing the “judicial hostility towards arbitration ... [that] manifests] itself in ‘a great variety’ of ‘devices and formulas’ declaring arbitration against public policy”). While this case does not ultimately turn on AT & T Mobility’s holding, see 131 S.Ct. at 1753, this Court cannot overlook that decision entirely because its reasoning may be at odds with reasoning in the Second Circuit’s recent cases, including American Express II and Ra-gone. A. The Court begins with the parties’ disputes over the formation of the arbitration agreement at issue in this case. See Granite Rock, 130 S.Ct. at 2855. The FAA requires this Court to hold a trial “[i]f the making of the arbitration agreement ... [is] in issue.” 9 U.S.C. § 4. But “the making of [an] arbitration agreement ... [is] in issue” within the FAA’s meaning only when there are material factual disputes regarding the elements of contract formation under the applicable state law. Oppenheimer & Co., 56 F.3d at 358. Under Connecticut law — which all parties agree is the applicable law — -the essential elements of contract formation are offer and acceptance. See Auto Glass Express, Inc. v. Hanover Insurance Co., 293 Conn. 218, 227, 975 A.2d 1266 (2009). 1. In their briefs, Ms. D’Antuono and Ms. Vilnit seemingly concede that they accepted the terms of the arbitration clause. After all, they both signed the Lease, and the arbitration clause was on the same page as each of their signatures. At oral argument, however, Plaintiffs’ counsel suggested for the first time that some of her arguments regarding Ms. D’Antuono’s and Ms. Vilnit’s obligations actually pertain to the formation of the arbitration agreement, rather than the enforceability of the arbitration agreement. The Court largely disagrees with Plaintiffs’ counsel’s re-characterization of her arguments, but Plaintiffs counsel is correct in one respect. To the extent that Ms. D’Antuono and Ms. Vilnit argue that they were mislead about the content of the documents they signed and rushed into signing the documents, their argument goes to the formation of an agreement, rather than to enforceability. See DiUlio v. Goulet, 2 Conn.App. 701, 703-04, 483 A.2d 1099 (1984). In Connecticut, the fact that a party signed a written agreement is usually conclusive evidence of contract formation. “The general rule is that where a person of mature years, who can read and write, signs or accepts a formal written contract affecting his pecuniary interests, it is his duty to read it, and notice of its contents will be imputed to him if he negligently fails to do so.” Ursini v. Goldman, 118 Conn. 554, 562, 173 A. 789 (1934). There is an exception to that general rule when something has “been said or done to mislead the person ... or to put a [person] of reasonable business prudence off his [or her] guard in the matter.” Id. Ms. D’Antuono and Ms. Vilnit relied on that exception in the portion of their sur-reply brief discussing procedural unconscionability. See Pis.’ Sur-Reply [doc. # 44] at 15 n. 8. But under Connecticut law, that exception goes to the factual issues of offer and acceptance, rather than to the legal issue of whether an agreement, once formed, may be enforced. See DiUlio, 2 Conn. App. at 703-04, 483 A.2d 1099 (1984) (“[E]ven though the plaintiff signed a release, the plaintiffs deposition and counteraffidavit raise a genuine issue of material fact as to her assent to the terms of the release.”); Delk v. Go Vertical, Inc., 303 F.Supp.2d 94, 100-01 (D.Conn.2004) (finding no evidence that the plaintiff had been misled or had been put off his guard at the time when he signed the agreement at issue). Because Ms. D’Antuono and Ms. Vilnit did not rely on the Ursini v. Goldman exception until they filed their surreply brief, and did not characterize their argument as a factual argument about the formation of an agreement until oral argument, it appears that Ms. D’Antuono and Ms. Vilnit may have waived that argument. Assuming, however, that Plaintiffs did not waive that argument, the Court still concludes that the declarations in the record from Ms. D’Antuono and Ms. Vilnit are not sufficient to raise genuine issues of material fact as to the essential elements of contract formation under Connecticut law, which again are a valid offer and a valid acceptance. See Auto Glass Express, 293 Conn. at 227, 975 A.2d 1266. The declarations from Ms. D’Antuono and Ms. Vilnit establish that Ms. Bergeron told Ms. D’Antuono that the agreement provided that Ms. D’Antuono worked for herself and that the Clubs needed a copy for their files, see D’Antuono Decl. [doc. # 26-2] ¶ 6; and that Ms. Bergeron told Ms. Vilnit that the agreement was tax-related. See Vilnit Deck [doc. # 26-3] ¶ 5. Although those statements were incomplete, they were both true enough. No reasonable jury could conclude from the declarations that Ms. Bergeron was sufficiently misleading as to the content of the Lease to negate Ms. D’Antuono’s and Ms. Vilnit’s acceptance of the terms of the Lease, particularly in light of the fact that both Ms. D’Antuono and Ms. Vilnit had the opportunity to read the Lease. Although both declarations indicate that Ms. Berger-on told Ms. D’Antuono and Ms. Vilnit that they needed to sign the Lease, see D’Antuono Deck [doc. # 26-2] ¶ 7; Vilnit Deck [doc. # 26-3] ¶ 5, neither declaration indicates that Ms. Bergeron required an immediate signature, and neither shows that she in any way attempted to dissuade either Ms. D’Antuono and Ms. Vilnit from reading the Lease. See Delk, 303 F.Supp.2d at 100 (“There is simply no evidence before the court that raises a genuine question as to whether Go Vertical or its employees deprived Delk of the opportunity to review the waiver or coaxed her to avoid reading it before she signed.”). Plaintiffs’ counsel’s other arguments with regard to Ms. D’Antuono and Ms. Vilnit relate not to the factual issue of whether an agreement to arbitrate was formed, but to the legal issue of whether Ms. D’Antuono’s and Ms. Vilnit’s agreement with Defendants is enforceable. See 9 U.S.C. § 2; American Express II, 634 F.3d at 198; Delk, 303 F.Supp.2d at 101 (“Delk further asserts that, even assuming she assented to its terms, the waiver is not valid.... ”). In arguing to the contrary, Plaintiffs’ counsel appears to be relying on a somewhat confusing passage from a district court decision that Plaintiffs’ counsel repeatedly cited at oral argument, Campbell v. General Dynamics Government Systems Corp., 321 F.Supp.2d 142 (D.Mass.2004). Several years before Campbell, the First Circuit held in Rosenberg v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., 170 F.3d 1 (1st Cir.1999), that a pre-dispute agreement to arbitrate discrimination claims was not “appropriate and authorized by law” within the meaning of the 1991 Civil Rights Act amendments to Title VII — and thus could not be enforced — because it did not give specific notice to the plaintiff that it required arbitration of employment claims. Id. at 4, 17, 20. The Second Circuit has never adopted the Rosenberg rule, and in one case, the Second Circuit explicitly declined to follow the Rosenberg court’s reasoning. See Gold v. Deutsche Aktiengesellschaft, 365 F.3d 144, 149 (2d Cir.2004). In any case, the First Circuit’s rule by its terms applies only to discrimination claims implicating the 1991 Civil Rights Act, and not to FLSA claims. See Rosenberg, 170 F.3d at 19 (“[T]his case does not implicate any broader questions of the enforceability of the arbitration clause when the 1991 CRA or ADEA are not involved.”). This Court is unwilling to import that particular rule into the FLSA context, particularly since the Second Circuit has not even adopted it in the limited context of claims implicating the 1991 Civil Rights Act. 2. The only remaining dispute relating to the formation of an agreement to arbitrate is about Ms. Cruz. With regard to Ms. D’Antuono and Ms. Vilnit, there has never been any dispute that Defendants carried their initial burden of “substantiat[ing their] entitlement [to arbitration] by a showing of evidentiary facts.” Oppenheimer & Co., 56 F.3d at 358. With regard to Ms. Cruz, Defendants have failed to carry that initial burden. For that reason, the Court has no choice but to deny Defendants’ motion with regard to Ms. Cruz. Under Connecticut law, even when parties have not entered into a written contract, a legally binding agreement may be inferred from the parties’ conduct when that conduct shows a tacit understanding, in the light of all of the surrounding circumstances. See, e.g., Sandella v. Dick Corp., 53 Conn.App. 213, 219, 729 A.2d 813 (1999) (citing Collins v. Lewis, 111 Conn. 299, 304, 149 A. 668 (1930)). The FAA generally requires federal courts to enforce even implied agreements to arbitrate, so long as they are set forth in some writing. See 9 U.S.C. § 2; Genesco, Inc. v. T. Kakiuchi & Co., Ltd., 815 F.2d 840, 846 (2d Cir.1987). For example, if an employer presents a written arbitration agreement to an employee, and the employee’s consent to the agreement can be reasonably inferred from the employee’s subsequent conduct, the fact that the employee never actually signed the agreement is irrelevant. See Brown v. St. Paul Travelers Companies, Inc., 331 Fed.Appx. 68, 69-70 (2d Cir.2009) (applying New York contract law and finding no genuine dispute of material fact as to the formation of an arbitration agreement). In this case, Defendants have not introduced any evidence that could permit a jury to reasonably infer that Ms. Cruz consented to the terms of the Lease, let alone the arbitration agreement. Defendants’ counsel has asserted in a reply brief that the Lease “was written and disseminated throughout” the Clubs and that Ms. Cruz therefore must have implicitly assented to the arbitration provision. Defs.’ Reply [doc. #38] at 22. If there were evidence that the Lease was posted in the Clubs, or that copies of the Lease were given to all new exotic dancers upon arrival, then it might be possible to infer an agreement from such a circumstance. See Brown, 331 Fed.Appx. at 69-70. But defense counsel’s generalized assertion is not supported by any evidence at all. The declarations that Defendants have introduced into the record indicate nothing more than that the Gold Club had a policy of providing a copy of the Lease to every exotic dancer at some point, see Bergeron Decl. [doc. # 38-1] ¶ 4; Second Genna Deck [doc. # 38-2] ¶ 4, and of obtaining a signed Lease from every exotic dancer at some later point. See First Genna Deck [doc. # 13-1] ¶ 6 (“It is [Defendants’] normal business practice to have Entertainers execute a ... Lease, in the substantially identical form as those executed by Ms. D’Antuono and Ms. Vilnit____ Assuming Ms. Romona Cruz performed as an Entertainer at the Groton Gold Club ... she would have necessarily executed ... [a] Lease or she would not have been permit-fed to perform.”). Defendants have not introduced any evidence at all about when copies of the Lease were ordinarily provided to new exotic dancers, let alone any specific evidence about when Ms. Cruz might have first been shown the Lease and arbitration agreement. Cf. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(4) (requiring that affidavits and declarations used to support or oppose a motion for summary judgment “must be made on personal knowledge, set out facts that would be admissible in evidence, and show that the affiant or declarant is competent to testify on the matters stated”). In fact, the only evidence before the Court indicates that Defendants often waited quite a long time before presenting new exotic dancers with copies of the Lease. According to both Ms. D’Antuono, see D’Antuono Deck [doc. # 26-2] ¶ 5, and Ms. Vilnit, see Vilnit Deck [doc. #26-3] ¶¶ 4-7, Defendants waited until nearly a year after Ms. D’Antuono and Ms. Vilnit started performing at the Clubs to show them the Lease. Ms. Cruz only performed at the Clubs for a few months. Thus, the only reasonable inference the Court can draw based on the evidence is that Ms. Cruz never saw the Lease and had no opportunity to consent to it, or to the arbitration agreement. The Court cannot compel Ms. Cruz to arbitrate her claims against Defendants unless she in fact agreed to arbitration, see Stolt-Nielsen, 130 S.Ct. at 1773, and Defendants’ motion is therefore DENIED IN PART. B. Having determined that the facts before the Court permit no reasonable conclusions other than that Ms. D’Antuono and Ms. Vilnit agreed to arbitration, and that Ms. Cruz did not, the Court now turns to the issue of the enforceability of the arbitration clause in the Lease. See 9 U.S.C. § 2; American Express II, 634 F.3d at 198. Plaintiffs contend that the arbitration clause is unenforceable under the principles of Connecticut contract law as well as under the principles of federal common law as envisioned by the passage of the FAA. See Green Tree Financial, 531 U.S. at 92, 121 S.Ct. 513; Perry v. Thomas, 482 U.S. 483, 492 n. 9, 107 S.Ct. 2520, 96 L.Ed.2d 426 (1987) With regard to both state law and federal law, Plaintiffs’ central argument is that the arbitration clause cannot be enforced because it requires each Plaintiff to proceed in an individual arbitration, and forbids them from bringing collective actions or class actions. At oral argument, Plaintiffs counsel backed away from the state law argument, in light of the United States Supreme Court’s recent holding in AT & T Mobility that the FAA preempts state law rules conditioning the enforceability of arbitration agreements on the availability of class arbitration procedures. See 131 5. Ct. at 1744. However, Plaintiffs did not abandon their state law argument entirely. The Court thus considers both their state law argument and their federal law argument below. After setting forth the relevant Connecticut law — or rather, the lack thereof — the Court will examine the possible impact of AT & T Mobility on that state law. See id. at 1740. 1. As the Court has already mentioned, the FAA permits federal courts to invalidate arbitration agreements based on “generally applicable contract defenses, such as fraud, duress, or unconseionability.” Rent-A-Center, 130 S.Ct. at 2776; see 9 U.S.C. § 2. AT & T Mobility, 131 S.Ct. at 1746. Typically, those defenses are state law defenses. See Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, U.S., LLC v. Nackel, 346 F.3d 360, 365 (2d Cir.2003) (“[(Questions of contractual validity relating to the unconscionability of the underlying arbitration agreement must be resolved first, as a matter of state law, before compelling arbitration pursuant to the FAA.”); see, e.g., Fensterstock, 611 F.3d at 134; Skirchak, 432 F.Supp.2d at 179. In this case, Plaintiffs do not allege fraud or duress. Their only state law arguments are that that the entire Lease is unenforceable as against public policy, see Van Voorhies v. Land/home Financial Services, No. CV095031713S, 2010 WL 3961297, at *7 (Conn.Super. Sept. 3, 2010), and that the arbitration clause is unconscionable. See, e.g., Skirchak, 432 F.Supp.2d at 179 (considering a plaintiffs argument that an arbitration clause was unconscionable as a matter of Massachusetts law). Neither argument has any merit. a. Under Connecticut law, it is “well established ‘that contracts that violate public policy are unenforceable.’ ” Hanks v. Powder Ridge Restaurant Corp., 276 Conn. 314, 326, 885 A.2d 734 (2005); Connecticut courts may thus void contracts that contain “exculpatory provisions [that] undermine the policy considerations” underlying state laws. Id. at 327, 885 A.2d 734; see also Parente v. Pirozzoli, 87 Conn.App. 235, 246, 866 A.2d 629 (2005) (“[I]t is well recognized that no court will lend its assistance in any way toward carrying out the terms of a contract, the inherent purpose of which is to violate the law.”). Relying on the Connecticut Superior Court’s decision in Van Voorhies v. Land/home Financial Services, 2010 WL 3961297, at *7, Plaintiffs appear to argue that this Court should void the entire Lease at the outset because it is designed in its entirety as an exculpatory provision authorizing labor law violations. See Pis.’ Mem. in Opp’n [doc. # 26] at 22-23 & n. 9. The Court need not decide at this time whether the entire Lease is void as against public policy under Connecticut law. “[A]s a matter of substantive federal arbitration law, an arbitration provision is severable from the remainder of the contract.” Buckeye Check Cashing, 546 U.S. at 445-46, 126 S.Ct. 1204. Thus, this Court’s inquiry must be limited for now to the question of whether the arbitration clause is unenforceable. To the extent that Plaintiffs’ public policy arguments are targeted solely at the arbitration clause, the Court believes it is appropriate to consider those arguments in the context of its discussion of the unconscionability doctrine. See Van Voorhies, 2010 WL 3961297, at *7. To the extent that Plaintiffs’ public policy arguments are focused on other aspects of the Lease — beyond the arbitration agreement — those questions will be left for the arbitrators to ultimately resolve, since the Court will require Ms. D’Antuono and Ms. Vilnit’s to submit their individual claims for arbitration. See Buckeye Check Cashing, 546 U.S. at 445-46, 126 S.Ct. 1204; JLM Industries, 387 F.3d at 170 & n. 5. b. “The purpose of the doctrine of unconscionability is to prevent oppression and unfair surprise.” Cheshire Mortgage Service, Inc. v. Montes, 223 Conn. 80, 88, 612 A.2d 1130 (1992); see DaimlerChrysler Insurance, Inc. v. Pambianchi, 762 F.Supp.2d 410, 421 (D.Conn.2011). “The classic definition of an unconscionable contract is one which no man in his senses, not under delusion would make, on the one hand, and which no fair and honest man would accept, on the other.” Smith v. Mitsubishi Motors Credit of America, Inc., 247 Conn. 342, 349, 721 A.2d 1187 (1998). Under Connecticut law, the party that raises unconscionability as a defense to the enforcement of any contract typically has the burden of showing that the contract is both procedurally and substantively unconscionable. See Bender, 292 Conn. at 732, 975 A.2d 636. “Substantive unconscionability focuses on the ‘content of the contract,’ as distinguished from procedural unconscionability, which focuses on the ‘process by which the allegedly offensive terms found their way into the agreement.’ ” Cheshire Mortgage, 223 Conn. at 80 n. 14, 612 A.2d 1130 (quoting J. Calamari & J. Perillo, Contracts § 9-37 (3d ed.)). In other words, the party usually must show both that there was an absence of meaningful choice on the part of that party, and that the terms of the agreement were unreasonably favorable toward the other party. See id. In some rare cases, a contractual provision may be so outrageous as to warrant a court’s refusal to enforce it based on substantive unconscionability alone. See Hottle v. BDO Seidman LLP, 268 Conn. 694, 720-21, 846 A.2d 862 (2004). In the Court’s view, Plaintiffs have not shown that the arbitration clause is either procedurally unconscionable or substantively unconscionable, let alone both. First, Plaintiffs have not shown that the arbitration clause is procedurally unconscionable. They suggest that the arbitration clause is procedurally unconscionable because it was “hidden in a maze of fine print, [because] no effort was made to alert [them] directly to the existence of the provision!], [and because] the parties had unequal bargaining power.” Edart Truck Rental Corp. v. B. Swirsky & Co., Inc., 23 Conn.App. 137, 143, 579 A.2d 133 (1990). It is true that the Appellate Court has indicated that a contractual provision might be procedurally unconscionable under all three of those circumstances. See id. But Plaintiffs’ assertion that the arbitration clause was hidden in a maze of fine print is simply not true. The arbitration clause was printed on the last page of a four-page Lease, the same page on which both Ms. D’Antuono and Ms. Vilnit signed their names. See Tab 1 to First Genna Decl. [doc. # 13-1] at 8. The arbitration clause was written in ordinary-size type, in bold, capital letters, and underlined. See id. It could hardly have been any less hidden. See, e.g., Palacios v. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., No. 10-22398-Civ-UU, Slip. Op. at 5 (S.D.Fla. Apr. 18, 2011) (applying Connecticut contract law and finding that an arbitration clause in a nine-page employment contract was not hidden); Van Voorhies, 2010 WL 3961297, at *5 (finding that an arbitration clause in a forty-five page employment contract were not hidden, and concluding that “any procedural unconscionability inherent in the arbitration agreement is minimal”). In the Court’s view, Plaintiffs’ procedural unconscionability argument comes down to nothing more than a claim that the parties had unequal bargaining power — as reflected by the fact that the Lease was a take-it-or-leave-it form contract — and that Defendants did not specifically direct Plaintiffs’ attention to the arbitration clause in the Lease. As this Court has previously had occasion to recognize, see DaimlerChrysler Insurance, 762 F.Supp.2d at 423-24, the Connecticut Supreme Court has soundly rejected the notion that provisions in form contracts are procedurally unconscionable whenever the party with greater bargaining power fails to direct the other party’s attention to important provisions. See Smith, at 352, 721 A.2d 1187 (“[W]e hold today that procedural unconscionability cannot be predicated solely on the failure by a commercial party proffering a form contract to an individual party to direct the individual’s attention to specific terms of a contractual agreement.”). Some federal courts applying other states’ laws have suggested that “take it or leave it” employment contracts written by relatively sophisticated employers are per se procedurally unconscionable. See Davis v. O’Melveny & Myers LLC, 485 F.3d 1066, 1073 (9th Cir.2007) (applying California law). Putting aside the question of whether those courts correctly applied the relevant state law, see Roman v. Superior Court, 172 Cal.App.4th 1462, 1470 n. 2, 92 Cal.Rptr.3d 153 (2009) (holding that the adhesive nature of an employment contract does not necessary make it procedurally unconscionable), there is no such rule in Connecticut. See, e.g., Van Voorhies, 2010 WL 3961297, at *5. The arbitration clause at issue here is thus not procedurally unconscionable under Connecticut law. Second, Plaintiffs have not shown that the arbitration clause is substantively unconscionable under Connecticut law. It is of course true that the arbitration clause contains a collective action and class action waiver, a cost- and fee-shifting provision, and a provision shortening the statute of limitations. Defendants have now conceded that they will not enforce the latter two provisions, see Notice [doc. # 52], but even if they had not made that concession, this Court could only say that the arbitration clause was substantively unconscionable if the clause was one that “no man in his senses, not under delusion would make, on the one hand, and which no fair and honest man would accept, on the other.” Smith, 247 Conn. at 349, 721 A.2d 1187; see DaimlerChrysler Insurance, 762 F.Supp.2d at 421-22. The Court is not persuaded that the three features Plaintiffs object to — even taken together, and even assuming that Defendants had not agreed to waive enforcement of two of the three features — render the arbitration clause so unfair that no sensible person would make it and that no fair and honest person would accept it. Plaintiffs have not cited any cases in which the Connecticut Supreme Court, applying Connecticut law, has suggested that collective action or class action waivers, cost- or fee-shifting provisions, or provisions shortening the statute of limitations, whether or not they are part of an arbitration clause, might be substantively unconscionable. In addition, Plaintiffs have not cited any case in which the Connecticut Supreme Court or the Connecticut Appellate Court, applying Connecticut law, has struck down either some portion of any arbitration agreement or an entire arbitration agreement as substantively unconscionable. Indeed, in the only case the Court knows of in which the Connecticut Supreme Court considered whether an arbitration agreement was substantively unconscionable, the Connecticut Supreme Court applied New York contract law and concluded that the agreement at issue was not substantively unconscionable. See Hottle v. BDO Seidman LLP, 268 Conn. 694, 719-21, 846 A.2d 862 (2004). In the absence of any controlling ruling from the Connecticut Supreme Court, this Court must make an attempt to discern how the Connecticut Supreme Court would rule, “after giving proper regard to relevant rulings of other courts of the State.” Lander v. Hartford Life & Annuity Insurance Co., 251 F.3d 101, 119 (2d Cir.2001). The portions of Plaintiffs’ briefs discussing substantive unconscionability are filled with references to cases involving other states’ contract law, see, e.g., Kristian v. Comcast Corp., 446 F.3d 25, 60 (1st Cir.2006) (discussing California contract law), but virtually devoid of any references to cases involving Connecticut law and cases decided by Connecticut courts. Plaintiffs have not cited any Connecticut Appellate Court cases at all in support of their substantive unconscionability argument. The only Connecticut Superior Court decision Plaintiffs rely on is Van Voorhies, a case in which the parties chose California law as the governing substantive law. See 2010 WL 3961297 at *3. The Van Voorhies court explicitly applied the California Supreme Court’s ruling that “a mandatory arbitration clause in an employment agreement could not require an employer and an employee to share costs,” and that arbitration agreements containing such requirements are substantively unconscionable. Id. at *6 (citing Armendariz v. Foundation Health Psychcare Services, Inc., 24 Cal.4th 83, 110-11, 99 Cal.Rptr.2d 745, 6 P.3d 669 (2000)). While California courts have tended to look upon arbitration agreements with disfavor, see Discover Bank v. Superior Court, 36 Cal.4th 148, 153, 30 Cal.Rptr.3d 76, 113 P.3d 1100 (2005); Armendariz, 24 Cal.4th at 110-11, 99 Cal.Rptr.2d 745, 6 P.3d 669, in Connecticut, “arbitration is a favored procedure” because it is “intended to avoid the formalities, the delay, the expense and the vexation” that are usually associated with ordinary litigation. Waterbury Teachers Association v. City of Waterbury, 164 Conn. 426, 434, 324 A.2d 267 (1973). Connecticut’s preference for arbitration is even embodied in a statute that tracks the language of the FAA. See Conn. Gen.Stat. § 52-409. The three features of the arbitration agreement that Plaintiffs object to — the collective action and class action waiver, the cost- and fee-shifting provision, and the provision shortening the statute of limitations — all have a general tendency to reduce the formalities, the delays, the expenses, and the vexation associated with ordinary litigation. That is, they further the very goals that make arbitration a favored procedure in Connecticut. See Waterbury Teachers Association, 164 Conn. at 434, 324 A.2d 267; cf. AT &T Mobility, 131 S.Ct. at 1749 (“The point of affording parties discretion in designing arbitration processes is to allow for efficient, streamlined procedures tailored to the type of dispute.”). It may be true that under the particular circumstances here, the features of the arbitration clause make it more difficult or less attractive for Plaintiffs to pursue their claims against Defendants. See American Express II, 634 F.3d at 188. But under different circumstances that are not before the Court — after all, the arbitration clause applies to all disputes between exotic dancers and the Clubs, not just wage and hour disputes — those features might well benefit the dancers, rather the Clubs. The arbitration clause at issue here is not substantively unconscionable. If the Court were to accept Plaintiffs’ ar