Missing The 100-Day Deadline For Seeking Vacatur Of An Arbitration Award Was Not The End Of The Story Here. It is not possible to improve on the California Supreme Court's summary of the case and its holding: "Law Finance Group, LLC, prevailed in an arbitration against Sarah Plott Key and filed a petition […]
The Court Of Appeal Chose Substance Over Form. The subpoena provisions of the California Arbitration Act do not give an arbitrator the power to issue “prehearing discovery subpoenas.” Aixtron, Inc. v. Veeco Instruments, Inc., 52 Cal.App.5th 360 (2020). Tim McConnell v. Advantest America, Inc., D080532 (4/1 filed 5/4/23 pub. 6/15/23) (Do, Huffman, O'Rourke) […]
Agreement Was Not Ambiguous. The court explained in Duran v. Employbridge Holding Company, F084167 (5th Dist. filed 4/27/23 pub. 5/30/23) (Franson, Hill, Smith) that the provision "claims under PAGA . . . are not arbitrable under this Agreement" is not ambiguous. "It is not objectively reasonable to interpret the phrase 'claims under PAGA' to […]
McGill v. CitiBank Held An Arbitration Agreement Is Invalid And Unenforceable If It Waives A Party's Statutory Right To Seek Public Injunctive Relief. Ring sells home security and smart home devices. Brandon Jack and others sued Ring, requesting injunctive relief to require Ring to prominently disclose certain things to consumers. Ring moved to compel […]
Keep In Mind That Authority Must Be Created By The Principal, Not The Agent. Kinder v. Capistrano Beach Care Center, LLC, B316937 (2/7 5/18/13) (Escalante, Perluss, Feuer) is a lawsuit brought by a resident of a residential skilled nursing facility who broke her hip in a fall and sued. The nursing facility tried, unsuccessfully, […]
Employee Entered Into Release Of Claims In Her Separation Agreement. Elizabeth Castelo entered into a release of claims in her separation agreement from her employer Xceed Financial Credit Union. In arbitration, the employee argued that she had entered into a pre-dispute arbitration agreement that was invalid. The arbitrator ruled in favor of the employer, […]
File This Under "More Ways Than One To Skin A Cat." Woman wearing a blue robe with Buzzer the cat. Photographer: Arnold Genthe. Library of Congress. Alberto v. Cambrian Homecare, B14192 (2/4 filed 4/19/23, cert for pub. 5/10/23) (Daum, Collins, Currey), affirms the trial court's order finding an arbitration clause unconscionable. Here's the […]
On The Occasion Of Our 247th Fourth Of July . . . Photo credit to Amy Widdowson, publisher of The Morning Missive https://substack.com/@amy (Amy also made the cake)
The Supreme Court Created A New Rule For Staying Cases Pending Interlocutory Appeal Of Order Denying Motion To Compel Arbitration. Prof. Ronald Mann provides an excellent review in ScotusBlog of the Supreme Court's decision in Coinbase v. Bielski, No. 22-105 (S.Ct. 6/23/23). The majority opinion, authored by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, holds that a district court […]
California Supreme Court Approves New Rule of Professional Conduct On June 2, 2023. The California Supreme Court approved a much discussed Rule of Professional Conduct requiring lawyers, without undue delay, to report professional misconduct. Much as lawyer misconduct in the Watergate Scandal resulted in professional ethics requirements and testing in California, the Girardi […]