We Examine Whether California Cases Are Following Justice Alito's or Justice Sotomayor's Opinion About Standing To Bring PAGA Representative Claims. The Daily Journal published a special issue on April 26, 2023, entitled "The Resolution Issue." My article entitled PAGA Arbitration: California Courts in the wake of Viking Cruises, is at p. 20 of the […]
Majority Of Panel Holds That Substantive Unconscionability Was Missing. Justice Stratton Dissents. Writing for the majority, Justice John Shepard Wiley Jr. explains that the above contract is enforceable, requiring the plaintiff employee to arbitrate her dispute. Though the document is manifestly illegible, Justice Wiley concludes that the contract is fair. Therefore, there is no […]
Individual PAGA Claims Must Be Arbitrated. One more California Court of Appeal follows the US Supreme Court in Viking Cruises v. Moriana, holding that arbitration of individual PAGA claims can be arbitrated. But the court also concludes that the employee "has standing to litigate nonindividual PAGA claims in the superior court notwithstanding his agreement […]
Mandatory Fee Arbitration Act Fee Provisions Prevailed Over Contract Fee Provisions. Oscar Wilde. c1882. N. Sarony. Library of Congress. Oscar Wilde is credited with the paraprosdokian, "One would have to have a heart of stone to read the death of Little Nell without laughing." Our next case provokes similar sentiments. Surjit P. Soni v. […]
Order Denying Ford Motor Company's Motion To Compel Arbitration Is Affirmed. In the Ford Motor Warranty Cases, No. B312261 (2/2 4/4/23) (Grimes, Stratton, Viramontes), FMC sought to compel arbitration with plaintiffs who purchased automobiles and complained about manufacturing defects. However, FMC's argument relied on dealership contracts with arbitration clauses to which FMC was not […]
Different Disclosure Rules Apply To Consumer Arbitrations And This Was Not A Consumer Arbitration. "Do the Ethics Standards require a retained arbitrator in a noncommercial [sic] case to disclose in one matter that he has been subsequently hired in a second matter by the same party and same law firm? We hold that the […]
Court Follows Opening Provided By Justice Sonia Sotomayor's Concurrence In Viking Cruises v. Moriana. Following the Supreme Court opinion in Viking Cruises v. Moriani, there could be no disagreement that employee Million Seifu's individual PAGA claim against Lyft for personal Labor Code violations he suffered could be arbitrated. But that left the hot […]
Holding Is Consistent With Ninth Circuit Precedent But Not The Language Of The Federal Arbitration Act. "The sole question before us is whether the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) requires a district court to stay a lawsuit pending arbitration, or whether a district court has discretion to dismiss when all claims are subject to arbitration. […]
Yet Another Skilled Nursing Home Case. One of our sidebar categories is "Prompt payment" referring to statutory provisions applying to consumer and employment cases requiring the drafting party to promptly pay arbitration fees and costs or waive its right to arbitrate. But California case law, upon which the next case relied, also provides that […]
Texas Longhorn. Clinton & Charles Robertson from Del Rio, Texas & San Marcos. Wikipedia. Between Scylla and Charybdis. Wikipedia. Between Horns Of A Dilemma And Between Scylla […]