The Class Action Waiver Is Enforceable. When a financial advisor brought a putative class action against Credit Suisse for deferred compensation, Credit Suisse moved successfully to dismiss based on an arbitration requirement in its Employee Dispute Resolution Program. The financial advisor appealed, arguing that Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) rule Rule 13204(a)(4) barred arbitration […]
Commercial Arbitration And Labor Arbitration Agreements Are To Be Analyzed The Same Way. American Nurses somewhere in England, November 2018. Library of Congress. When the agreement is silent about who decides whether a dispute is arbitrable, does the court or the arbitrator decide? The court decides. However, 9th Circuit case law created an exception […]
Case Offers Primer On McGill v. Citibank, N.A. Defendant and appellant DACM, Inc. (Del Amo) sold a motorcycle to Joseph Mejia, who paid some cash and financed the remainder of the purchase with a credit card. And, the credit card included an arbitration provision covering Del Amo. So when Mejia sued Del Amo for […]
Express Modification Provisions In Volkswagen Class Settlement Agreement Allowed For A Modifying Amendment. Look Sharp Barber Shop sign (painted 1969 Volkswagen), Yuma, Arizona. John Margolies, photographer. Library of Congress. [No, that's not the model involved in the "Clean Diesel" Litigation, but we liked the photo]. The settlement agreement between class action plaintiffs and Volkswagen […]
Shivkov v Artex Risk Solutions Arises From Tax Shelter Gone Sideways . . . The numerous Plaintiffs in Shivkov, et al v. Artex Risk Solutions, Inc., et al, No. 19-16746 (9th Cir. 9/9/20) (Smith, Fisher, Hawkins), probably felt that the Artex Risk Solutions was a misnomer by the time they brought suit. Defendants allegedly […]
A Case To Read On The Limits Of The Delegation Doctrine. Neal Moritz, the film producer and industry executive associated with the Fast and Furious (FF) franchise, sued Universal City Studios LLC and others for breach of an oral contract and promissory estoppel after the distributor allegedly removed him as lead producer of the […]
And The Attack On Arbitrator's Bias Came Too Late. The trial judge in Rivera v. Shivers et al., G057919 (4th Dist. Div. 3 8/31/20) (Bedsworth, Thompson, Goethals) sua sponte ordered the unlawful detainer action to mandatory statutory arbitration. What could go wrong? For one thing, unlawful detainer actions are exempt from mandatory statutory arbitration. […]
Employer Had No Duty To Call Arbitration Agreement To Attention Of Employee. When Michael Conyer became employed by Hula Media, the employer's handbook did not have an arbitration clause. Several months later, Conyer signed the "receipt and acknowledgment" page, which was the final page of a revised employee handbook that did include an arbitration […]
Case Was Governed By State Law Rather Than The Federal Arbitration Act. The defendant landlord in Keisa Williams et al. v. 3620 W. 102nd Street, Inc., et al., B297824 (2/8 8/24/20) (Wiley, Grimes Stratton), did not discharge the burden of establishing that the residential lease at issue involved interstate commerce, and hence California state […]
An Arbitrator's Decision Is Not Ordinarily Reviewable For Error . . . Unless The Parties Agree That It Is In California State Courts. In Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority v. Golden State Warriors, LLC, A157688 (1/5 8/18/20) (Jones, Simons, Needham), high stakes depended on whether a contract between the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority and Golden […]