Court of Appeal Concludes Binding Mediation Need Not Be An Oxymoron, Distinguishing Lindsay v. Lewandowski The trial court enforced a settlement agreement, under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. section 664.6, resulting in a binding mediation award in favor of plaintiffs. Defendant appealed, contending that it never agreed to resolve the dispute through “binding mediation”, that […]
AB 1692 Would Expand AB 506 CBS News reports that the state Assembly has rejected legislation (AB 1692) seeking to expand the mediation process for California cities about to declare bankruptcy. At the end of last year, AB 506, drafted by Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski (D – Fremont), created a mediation requirement for municipalities […]
“All About California Mediation And Arbitration” We are pleased to inform our readers that as of May 23, 2012, California Mediation and Arbitration has been added to the ABA Journal’s blawg directory under the category “Alternative Dispute Resolution”. We thank Sarah Randag, Web Editor of the ABA Journal, for informing us.
Under Civil Code Section 1717, There May Be Only One Prevailing Party Entitled to Recover Attorney’s Fees on Given Contract In Given Lawsuit The key to our next case, involving arbitration and attorney’s fees, turns on a nice point that may at first seem a technicality but is actually material and dispositive here. […]
Whether the Mediation Confidentiality Was Violated Is Not Crystal Clear From the Opinion We are always pleased when a case has something to say about mediation – there are far fewer written opinions about mediation than about arbitration. Aaronson petitioned to nullify her marriage with Oslica, on the ground of purported fraud […]
Fifth District Explains That By Submitting A Dispute to An Arbitral Forum, A Party Does Not Necessarily Forgo Substantive Statutory Rights Plaintiff Ruth Chappell (replaced by her trustee Bickel after she died) sued an assisted living facility, Sunrise Assisted Living, for Elder Abuse. Chappell’s written agreement with Sunrise included an arbitration clause specifying […]
Once Again, Second District, Division 1 Gets to Explore Legal Consequences of Not Paying All the Arbitrator’s Fees The parties in Cinel v. Barna, Case No. B232380 (2nd Dist. Div. 1 May 18, 2012) (Johnson, J.) (unpublished) have undoubtedly expended lots of attorney’s fees by now, exploring the legal consequences of not paying […]
Court of Appeal Delves Further Into Whether Alleged Agency Relationship Relates to Activities Governed By The Arbitration Clause The underlying dispute among different YMCA organizations, concerned the right to use camp grounds in the Sierra. Plaintiff Central Valley Young Man’s Christian Association, Inc. ran into financial difficulties, as a result of which the […]
Public Spectacle? Dark Comedy? Courtroom Drama? White Noise? Stay Tuned. Above: Aged TV Writer Sits and Ponders the Meaning of It All. Creator: American Red Cross. Albania. 1923. Library of Congress. In the May 14, 2012 online edition of The National Law Journal, Zoe Tillman writes about the fight over lawyer’s fees following […]
Outcome Depended On Capacity In Which Signatory Signed The trial court determined that Plaintiff Allen Othman was not a party to a contract containing an arbitration provision in an agreement, and therefore was not bound to arbitrate his claims against Zions First National Bank. Mr. Othman had tried to purchase a property through […]