A Circuitous Route To Publication. I posted about SingerLewak v. Gantman on July 31, August 31, and September 1, 2015. This is an interesting case discussing the so-called “public policy exception” that will sometimes justify review of an arbitral award by the superior court – though in the end, not in this case. […]
California Law Revision Commission Revisits Mediation Confidentiality At Its October 8, 2015 Meeting. I have previously posted about efforts to permit the introduction of evidence currently protected by mediation confidentiality. See my posts of August 30, 2015, and September 11, 2015. The California Law Revision Commission met on October 8, 2015, to address […]
ScotusBlog Analyzes Oral Argument Under Caption, “Justices have scorching criticism for California court’s refusal to enforce arbitration agreement, but debate their authority to correct it.” Columbia Law Professor Ronald Mann has authored both an October 2, 2015 preview of arguments in DIRECTV v. Imburgia and an October 7, 2015 analysis of the oral arguments. […]
Panel Holds the Federal Arbitration Act Did Not Preempt The California Rule Announced In Iskanian. By a 2-1 majority, a Ninth Circuit panel has reversed a district court’s order that had granted an employer’s motion to compel arbitration of claims and dismissed claims for civil penalties under the Private Attorney General Act of 2004 […]
Mediator Jill Switzer Comments On The Recent Proposal Before The California Law Revision Commission To Loosen Mediation Confidentiality Statutes. On August 30, 2015, I posted that on August 7, 2015, the California Law Revision Commission directed staff “to begin the process of preparing a draft of a tentative recommendation that would propose an exception […]
Party Wishing To Enforce Right To Have Settlement Agreement Interpreted By Arbitrator Ought To Have Sought Enforcement Before Same Issues Were Submitted To Court For Adjudication On The Merits. The underlying dispute in Kurtin v. Elieff, G049556 (4/3 Sept. 2, 2015) (Rylaarsdam, Aronson, Fybel) (unpublished) was a messy partnership buyout and accounting. After a […]
Court of Appeal’s Jurisdiction To Authorize Publication Expired. Just yesterday, in the preceding post, I reported the Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 8, had authorized publication of SingerLewak v. Gantman, a case offering an excellent discussion of the so-called “public policy exception” that, when it is found it exist, allows for judicial review […]
An Arbitrator Implying A Geographic Limitation Under Bus. & Prof. Code Section 16602 Did Not Violate An Important Public Policy, And Thus Did Not Expose The Arbitral Award To Judicial Review. On July 31, 2015, I posted about SingerLewak, LLP v. Gantman, B259722 (2/8 July 29, 2015; pub. Aug. 31), a case providing a […]
Proposed New Exception To Mediation Confidentiality Statutes Would Utilize In Camera Screening Process. On August 7, 2015, the California Law Revision Commission directed staff “to begin the process of preparing a draft of a tentative recommendation that would propose an exception to the mediation confidentiality statutes (Evid. Code sections 1115-1128) to address ‘attorney malpractice […]
Party Seeking Arbitration Only Has Initial Burden Of Establishing Prima Facie Case Of Existence Of Arbitration Agreement. In a dispute concerning student debt, plaintiff student argued defendant loan servicer failed to establish the dispute was encompassed by the arbitration agreement. Reversed: “In denying defendant’s petition to compel arbitration, the trial court improperly required defendant […]