Health Care Cases Continue To Generate Problematic Arbitration Agreements. The case James Maxwell v. Atria, A168043 (1/1 9/19/24) (Siggins, J.) involves the death of 93-year-old Trudy Maxwell, a resident at Atria Park of San Mateo, who passed away after drinking industrial-strength cleaner mistakenly served by an Atria employee. Trudy's children, including James Maxwell III, […]
First Invoice Was Paid By Employee And Marked "Paid" And Employer Timely Paid Second Invoice. In Anoke v. Twitter, Inc., A168675 (1/5 pub. 9/18/24) (Burns, J.), Sarah Anoke and other employees initiated arbitration against Twitter ("X") for employment-related disputes. Under California Code of Civil Procedure section 1281.97, an employer must pay its share of […]
An Exception To The General Rule That Errors Of Fact And Law Are Not A Basis For Reversing An Arbitrator's Award. If you need an example of a recent case in which the parties agreed that the arbitrator shall follow the law, see Samuelian v. Life Generations Healthcare, LLC, No. G061911, G062416 & G062426 […]
Delegation Of Threshold Issue To Arbitrator Must Be Unmistakably Clear. Mahram used Instacart to purchase groceries and later sued Ralphs (The Kroger Co.) for allegedly raising prices after applying a coupon, claiming violations under false advertising and unfair competition laws. Ralphs moved to compel arbitration based on an agreement between Mahram and Instacart, even […]
Multiple Unconscionable Provisions Does Not Necessarily Make An Arbitration Agreement Unenforceable. In Ramirez v. Charter Communications, Inc., No. S273802 (S.Ct. 7/15/24) (Corrigan, J.), Angelica Ramirez, a former employee of Charter Communications, sued the company for employment discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Charter sought to compel arbitration based on an agreement Ramirez signed during her onboarding. […]
Party Seeking To Vacate Arbitration Award Must Satisfy Separate Deadlines. The thirty-two page slip opinion in Valencia v. Mendoza, B325803 (2/7 7/1/24) (Feuer, Martinez, Segal) affirms a $432 K award in favor of plaintiffs/respondents the Valencias. The underlying dispute concerned failure to disclose defects in a home sale. The most important point relates to deadlines […]
The California Courts Are Divided. One more case lines up with those courts holding the 30-day deadline requirement in consumer and employment cases, set by Cal. Code of Civ. Proc. § 1281.98, for the drafting party to pay arbitration fees, is not preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act. Keeton v. Tesla, Inc., A166690 (1/1 […]
Equitable Estoppel, Third-Party Beneficiary, And Agency Arguments Of Employer Failed To Gain Traction. Nelida Soltero sued her employer, which sought to compel arbitration, based on an arbitration agreement in a contract between Soltero and Real Time Staffing Services, a temporary worker staffing agency. However, the employer was not a signatory to the agreement between […]
The Fifth District Rules That It Is Not Enough For The Employee To Say He Doesn't Remember Signing After The Employer Produces Employee's Handwritten Signature. Carlos Ramirez filed a class action lawsuit against his employer Golden Queen Mining Company LLC alleging wage and hour violations. The employer moved to compel arbitration and produced an […]
The Lesson Here Is The Importance of Carefully Drafting Collaborative Law Agreements. How's this for a setup: "Ling and Paul Mueller married in 2009 and separated in 2017. During their marriage, they cultivated cannabis and buried the proceeds on their property." What could possibly go wrong? Plenty. The Muellers engaged in a collaborative […]