First District Division 1 Explains What Will And What Will Not Result In Equitable Estoppel Requiring Non-Signatory To Arbitrate. After plaintiffs in coordinated cases hired the Fertility Center (Pacific) to provide fertility-related services, a tank used by Pacific to freeze eggs failed. The tank was manufactured by Chart, Inc., (Chart), and sold to Pacific […]
Court Holds That Viking River Cruises Requires Enforcement Of Pre-Dispute Arbitration Agreement. Judge Harutunian explains that the trial court "understandably" denied the employer's motion to compel arbitration based on a rule in California that "predispute agreements to arbitrate PAGA claims are unenforceable." He concludes: "We hold that this rule cannot survive the U.S. Supreme […]
Employers Take Heed: Promptly Pay Arbitration Fees Or Lose The Right To Arbitrate. California Code of Civil Procedure, sections 1281.97 and 1281.98 provide that if a company or business that drafts an arbitration agreement does not pay arbitration fees within 30 days of when fees are due, the company or business is in material […]
Court Of Appeals Affirms Denial Of Motion To Compel Arbitration. It's alive, it's alive ! We harbor the suspicion that Navas v. Fresh Venture Foods, LLC, B31288A (2/6 11/21/22) (Gilbert, Yegan, Perren), was published so that the Court of Appeal could tell us that while Viking River Cruises v. Moriana overrules Iskanian, to […]
To Mediate Or Not To Mediate. On November 14, 2022, the Los Angeles Times reported: "About 48,000 unionized academic workers across the University of California’s 10 campuses . . . walked off the job Monday morning, calling for better pay and benefits." Is mediation the path to resolution? “'At this time, we believe […]
At Play: Applicability Of Labor Code § 925 And California Code Of Civ. Proc. § 1981.4. The scenario in Jinshu "John" Zhang, Petitioner v. Superior Court of Los Angeles, Respondent; Dentons US LLP et al, real parties in interest, B314386 (2/8 11/9/22) (Grimes, Stratton, Wiley), while not exactly common, is also to be expected. […]
Once The Arbitrator Determines All Issues Necessary To Resolve The Essential Dispute, The Arbitrator's Ruling Constitute A Final Award Under § 1283.4. The arbitrator issued an award, labeled neither final nor interim, on April 3, 2020, denying employee a finding of liability in her favor, and denying employee and respondent employer attorney's fees, on […]
Trial Judge No. 1 Found The Arbitration Agreement Enforceable, No. 2 Found It Enforceable, And Court Of Appeal Agreed With No. 2. Chris Mills sued his former employer for disability discrimination and related employment claims. Employer FSG successfully enforced an arbitration agreement, the trial judge holding unconscionable provisions in the agreement were severable. An […]
Because The Parties Agreed That The Federal Arbitration Act Applied, Applying The Federal Rule In Morgan v. Sundance, Inc. Was Necessary. When the first paragraph of an opinion tells us that the party seeking to compel arbitration waited 19 months to bring a motion to compel arbitration, the court has pretty much telegraphed that […]
TL:DR — The Headline Is What You Need To Know. "Does a 998 offer automatically expire when a trial court orally grants the offeror’s summary judgment motion? We hold that that answer is 'yes.' Because the trial court came to the same conclusion, we affirm." Ana Isabel Trujillo v. City of Los Angeles, B314042 […]