Nonsignatories Can Sometimes Enforce An Arbitration Agreement Based On A Third-Party Beneficiary Or Equitable Estoppel Theory – But Such Was Not The Case Here. After Kim Ngo purchased a BMW that Ngo alleged was a lemon, BMW sought to enforce an arbitration agreement between the Dealer and Ngo, to which BMW was not a […]
Three Recent Cases Affirm Orders Denying Motions To Compel Arbitration. Anthony De Leon v. Pinnacle Property Management Services, LLC et al., No. 059801 (4/3 Dec. 8, 2021) — Unconscionability. Superior Court Judge Marks, sitting by assignment, authors the opinion, agreeing with the trial judge's denial of a motion to compel arbitration, on the grounds […]
Paul Dubow And Marc Alexander Have Published An Article About FAA Preemption And California's AB 51. The article, entitled Can California Protect Employees From Entering Into Mandatory Pre-Dispute Arbitration Agreements?, appears in California Litigation, Vol. 34, No. 3 (2021). Paul Dubow is a seasoned mediator and arbitrator in the Bay Area, and Marc Alexander […]
The United States Supreme Court Granted Cert On December 15, 2022. The issue: "Whether the Federal Arbitration Act requires enforcement of a bilateral arbitration agreement providing that an employee cannot raise representative claims, including under the California Private Attorneys General Act." Readers of this blog will know that California courts have repeatedly ruled, […]
Failure To Communicate . . . Cool Hand Luke. "What we've got here is failure to communicate." Reversing the district court's order to compel arbitration, the Ninth Circuit holds that the issue of formation of the contract to arbitrate should have been decided by the court, despite delegation of issues of validity and […]
A Happy New Year To All Our Readers ! Puck's Magazine. December 28, 1910. Library of Congress. Summary by Library of Congress: Illustration shows Father Time ringing bells proclaiming "The Greatest Good for the Greatest Number", while a crowd in the street celebrates the New Year by using noisemakers, horns, drums, and cymbals to sound […]
Panel Denies Motion For Rehearing And Request For En Banc. On September 15, 2021, we posted about Hodges v. Comcast, No. 19-16483 (9th Cir. 9/10/21) (Collins, VanDyke; Berzon, dsst.) In that case, the court held that non-waivable public injunctive relief (i.e., relief that falls under the McGill rule), must be forward looking and benefit the […]
Engaged In Interstate Commerce, Domino's Drivers Delivering Pizza Ingredients Intrastate Are Exempt From Requirements of Federal Arbitration Act. 9 U.S.C § 1. How Domino's Makes Its Pizza ↑ Downtown LA Pizza. Carol Highsmith, photographer. 2012. Library of Congress. ↑ Jon Stewart Deep Dish Pizza Rant. ↓ […]
Just Following The Law, Or Gaslighting? Farmworker Martinez-Gonzalez, on behalf of himself and other employees, brought a wage and hour lawsuit against a farm labor contractor and a grower. The district court held that defendants could not enforce an arbitration agreement, because the employee had signed under economic duress or undue influence. […]
De Leon v. Pinnacle Property Management Services, LLC, G059801 (4/3 ord. to publish 12/8/21) (Marks, Fybel, Goethals). This case applies established principles to affirm the trial court's order denying employer's motion to compel arbitration. The trial court found the arbitration agreement procedurally and substantively unconscionable. Procedurally unconscionable, because it was a take-it-or […]