Because Enrollment Process Was Handled By CalPERS, Statutory Requirements That Notice Of Arbitration Be Conspicuous in a Health Plan Did Not Apply. Edward William Kuntz's wife, children, and estate sued Kaiser for Elder Abuse and other claims, and Kaiser move successfully to compel arbitration of the Elder Abuse claim and stay the other claims. […]
Ninth Circuit Agrees With District Court That Labor Dispute Was Not Arbitrable And That Arbitrability Was Properly Decided By The Court. In Tramon Wilson-Davis v. SSP America, et al., B306781 (2/3 4/9/21) (Edmon, Lavin, Egerton), a dishwasher sued his employer, individually and behalf of a putative class, for wage and hour violations. A collective […]
The Book Is Journalist Jim Newton's Man of Tomorrow: The Relentless Life of Jerry Brown. For those of you who enjoy reading about California politics and politicians, I've written a review of Jim Newton's new book about former Governor Jerry Brown. The review, which appears in California Litigation, Vol. 34, No. 1 (2021), is […]
Justice Tangeman, Who Concurred Before, Now Dissents After Rehearing. We posted on February 2, 2021 about Breslin v. Breslin, B301382 (2/6 1/26/21) (Gilbert, Yegan, Tangeman), an opinion authored by Justice Gilbert in which Justices Yegan and Tangeman concurred. The case held the party receiving notice of a mediation ordered by the probate court and […]
The Majority Looks At The Amount-In-Controversy In The Underlying Dispute, And The Concurring Opinions Looks At The Amount Involved In The Discovery Dispute. The panel in Maine Community Health Options v. Albertsons Companies, Inc., No. 20-35931 (9th Cir. 3/31/21) (Hurwitz, Fletcher; Watford concurring) determines how "the amount-in-controversy requirement in 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a) is […]
Can US Federal Courts Allow Discovery For Private International Arbitrations? As set forth in SCOTUSBlog, this is the issue before the Supreme Court in Servotronics, Inc. v. Rolls-Royce PLC: "Whether the discretion granted to district courts in 28 U.S.C. § 1782(a) to render assistance in gathering evidence for use in 'a foreign […]
Who Decides Illegality Of A Contract, The Arbitrator Or The Court? Michael Bacall, an actor, was represented by Jeffrey Shumway, an attorney, who provided "legal/management services and [Chief Content Officer] services." Bacall alleged Shumway failed to disclose he was "inactive" with the State Bar, and Bacall terminated the contract with Shumway and his company […]
Do You Know What Information Zoom Has About Your Communications? Mediators, arbitrators, litigators, and parties are rightly concerned about the confidentiality of communications. Mediators rely on the mediation confidentiality protections in the California Evidence Code, sections 1119 et seq, and litigators and arbitrators rely on confidentiality agreements. Today, many of us are using online […]
Efforts By Employers To Have An Arbitrator Decide A Dispositive Part Of A PAGA Claim Continue To Founder. The wreck of the Atlantic. c1873. Currier and Ives. Library of Congress. The Court of Appeal holds that the delegation of the question whether plaintiffs are "aggrieved employees" to an arbitrator frustrates the purpose of the […]
A Case Of First Impression. Section 998 offers belong to the armamentarium of litigators engaged in settling cases, because the potential of such offers to shift costs can be a source of negotiating leverage. Hence, our blog about ADR has a sidebar category "Section 998 (Settlements)". In Varney Entertainment Group, Inc. v. Avon […]