The Key: Close Reading Of Provision Providing For Arbitration If Reference Became “Legally Unavailable.” The short but interesting opinion in Freeman v. Froehlich Signature Homes, Inc., F073374 (5th Dist. 12/15/16) (Levy, Gomes, Kane) (unpublished), merits close reading, because it reads like a finely-worded exam question. In a construction defect lawsuit, the trial court […]
Limitations On Discovery Did Not Make Arbitration Unconscionable, Because The Limitations Applied Equally. A vintage downtown beauty parlor, part of the Ackley Heritage Center that also includes an old-time soda fountain as well as prairie houses and farm buildings on the outskirts of town in Ackley, Iowa. 2016. Carol M. Highsmith, photographer. Library of […]
How Liberal And Conservative Justices On The US Supreme Court Have Parted Ways Over Arbitration Cases. My article entitled, "The Politics of Arbitration", appears in California Litigation, The Journal of the Litigation Section, State Bar of California, Vol. 29, No. 3, 2016. As my article explains, arbitration has become one more "hot button issue" […]
In The Fifth Circuit, D.R. Horton Inc. v. NLRB, 737 F.3d 344, Is Dispositive. In an unpublished opinion, Citigroup Technology, et al. v. NLRB, 15-60856 (5th Cir. 12/8/16) (per curiam), the Fifth Circuit grants Citigroup’s Petition for Review, and reverses the NLRB’s decision adverse to Citigroup, which seeks to enforce arbitration of an employee’s […]
Hernandez v. Ross Stores Lines Up With Other California Cases Refusing To Split PAGA Claims Into Arbitrable And Non-Arbitrable Parts. In Hernandez v. Ross Stores, Inc., No. E064026 (4/2 12/7/16) (Miller, Hollenhorst, Slough) (unpublished), the Court of Appeal upholds the trial court’s denial of an employer’s motion to compel arbitration of whether an employee […]
Court Describes Appeal As “A Tempest In A Teapot.” Teapot with cherry or plum blossoms. Between 1750 and 1850. Library of Congress. California has a convenient procedure for enforcing settlement agreements: Code of Civil Procedure, section 664.6. This allows a court to retain jurisdiction of a dismissed case for the purpose of enforcing […]
NYT Article Describes Bank’s Use Of Arbitration With Customers Complaining About Creation Of Sham Accounts. Above: Wells, Fargo & Co.'s Express Office, C Street, Virginia City. 1866. Library of Congress. The NYT, which ran a series of articles in 2015 critical about the spread of arbitration, has published an article dated December […]
It’s Not Exactly The Same As Skipping Mediation In A Home Sale Purchase In California . . . . California courts have established that the consequence of not requesting mediation before suing for breach of a California Association of Realtor’s residential purchase agreement is that the plaintiff will not recover attorney’s fees even if […]
Absence Of A Record Was A Major Problem For Appellant. Law Offices of Mark Waecker, APC v. Pius Kim, B268212 (2/5 12/1/16) (Turner, Kriegler, Kumar) (unpublished) illustrates the proposition that an arbitrator’s decision is generally not reviewable for factual or legal errors. Moncharsh v. Heily & Blase, 3 Cal.4th 1 (1992). Therefore, the Court […]
Acknowledgment Of Employee Handbook Is Not Necessarily Agreement To All Its Contents. Courts apply the rule requiring resolution of ambiguities against the drafting party “with peculiar force in the case of a contract of adhesion.” That’s what happened in Rollins v. Stack & Associates, CPAs, No. D069390 (4/1 11/30/16) (Nares, Benke, Huffman) (unpublished), in […]