A Critical Letter Provided The Evidentiary Linchpin. The Court of Appeal in Gamma Eta Chapter of PI Kappa Alpha, B25667 (2/8 2/6/20) (Wiley, Bigelow, Grimes), reversed the trial court's order denying a motion to compel arbitration and remanded so that the trial court could grant the motion and stay the case pending arbitration. The […]
And Now There Is A Split Between The 4th District, Div. 3, And The 2nd District, Div. 2. In Branches Neighborhood Corp. v. CalAtlantic Group, Inc., 26 Cal.App.5th 743 (2018), a homeowner's association began a construction defects arbitration with a developer without first getting a vote of 51% of its […]
The Majority Opinion Acknowledges That Parties Can Start High When Staking A Claim. In today's Daily Journal, I have an article about Vargas v. Howell et al., 2020 DJDAR 905 (9th Cir. Feb. 5, 2020), entitled: 'Mechanical' analysis of attorney fees award in civil rights case results in partial reversal'. […]
Additional Insured Had Tried To Avoid Arbitration By Arguing It Was Not A Party To Arbitration Agreement. Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company v. SMG Holdings, Inc., No. C082841 (3rd Dist. 12/31/19) (per curiam), "concerns whether a binding arbitration clause in an insurance policy issued by plaintiff Philadelphia Indemnity Ins. Co., applies to a third […]
And Provides Us With A Legislative Update . . . Molecule Man. Edward R. Roybal Federal Building. Implicit bias is a hot topic that is, or should be, of concern to mediators, arbitrators, judges, attorneys, and clients. Mediator Phyllis Pollack, who also lectures about ADR ethics at the USC Gould School of […]
Your Blogger Has Reviewed Miriam Pawel's Book, The Browns of California, in California Litigation. I've reviewed Miriam Pawel's book, The Browns of California: The Family Dynasty That Transformed a State and Shaped a Nation. The review appears in California Litigation, the journal of the California Lawyers Association, Vol. 32, No. 3, p. 46 (2019). With […]
To all my readers, Thanks for following along in 2019. Onwards to 2020!
Governor Brown Earlier Vetoed Legislation Banning Mandatory Employment Arbitration Based On FAA Preemption Concerns. Laurence Darmiento, Staff Writer for the LA Times, has authored an article dated December 30, 2019, and entitled: "Judge halts California law banning forced arbitration at the workplace." Darmiento writes, "U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller ruled that the California Chamber […]
An Issue Of First Impression — Did A Smartphone App Impart Constructive Knowledge Of An Arbitration Agreement? The Ninth Circuit has decided an issue of first impression for the court: "[U]nder what circumstances does the download or use of a mobile application ('app') by a smartphone user establish constructive notice of the app's terms […]
Authentication Of Electronic Signatures Continues To Generate Case Law And Stymie Employers. We have blogged before about the problems employers have had authenticating employees' electronic signatures on arbitration agreement. On January 4, 2015, we blogged about Ruiz v. Moss Bros. Auto Group, Inc., 232 Cal.App.4th 836 (2014), a leading case highlighting the pitfalls of electronic […]