Incorporation By Reference Of AAA Rules Is The Key Here. Plaintiffs, who worked as armed security guards, brought an employment class action against their employers Universal Protection Service, LP and Universal Services of America, Inc. (UPS). After the trial court denied UPS’ motion to compel individual arbitration, while staying the suit pending arbitration, UPS […]
State Law Unconscionability Principles Are Not Preempted By The Federal Arbitration Act – So Long As They Do Not Uniquely Target Arbitration Agreements. Carlson v. Home Team Pest Defense, Inc., A142219 (1/4 Aug. 17, 2015) (Ruvolo, Reardon, Streeter) (certified for publication) affirms an order denying an employer’s motion to compel arbitration, on grounds that […]
Court Distinguishes Imburgia v. DIRECTV, Inc., Case Pending Before SCOTUS. Automobile purchases and leases have generated quite a few disputes about the enforcement of arbitration clauses. Exhibit 1: The Sanchez case decided by the California Supreme Court on August 3, about which I posted on August 4, 2015. We have a sidebar category for […]
Judgment Confirming Arbitration Award And Postjudgment Order Awarding Attorney Fees Are Reversed. One of this blog’s sidebar categories is “Nonsignatories,” because many cases address whether nonsignatories to arbitration agreements can nevertheless be compelled to arbitrate either because they are third-party beneficiaries of the agreement, or because they have a special relationship with a party […]
Application of Concepcion Is Decisive. At last, the California Supreme Court has decided Sanchez v. Valencia Holding Company, LLC, S199119 (Cal. Sup. Ct. Aug. 3, 2015) (Liu, J., author). The case has been pending since Defendant and Appellant Valencia filed its petition for review on January 4, 2012. The majority opinion, authored by Justice […]
An Uncertain Future In California: The Arbitrability Of Statutory Representative Actions Brought For The Benefit Of The Public. Thanks to the generous permission of California Litigation, The Journal of The Litigation Section, State Bar of California, my article “Can Private Attorney General Actions Be Forced Into Arbitration?” is now available on my website […]
SingerLewak LLP v. Gantman Contains Excellent Discussion Of The “Public Policy Exception” That Sometimes Permits Judicial Review Of An Arbitrator’s Decision – But Not Here. It is well-established that arbitrators do not exceed their powers just because they assign an erroneous reason for their decision. Therefore, the vast majority of arbitrator’s awards are immune […]
Rule For Arbitration Awards Is Different From Rule For Judgments In North Beach Partners, LLC v. Sollner, A139893 (1/4 July 27, 2015) (Rivera, Ruvolo, Reardon) (unpublished), a hotly contested real estate dispute, the superior court granted a motion to amend a judgment and add additional judgment debtors as alter egos of North Beach Partners […]
“Exotic” Choice Of Law Clause Is The Key To This Case. Stained glass in Neiman Marcus store, San Francisco. Carol M. Highsmith, photographer. 2012. Library of Congress. Neiman Marcus drafted an ingenious choice of law clause that the First District, Division Four, describes as “exotic” – perhaps a euphemism for “too clever by […]
Contract Must Be Construed As A Whole So As To Give Effect To Every Part, If Reasonably Practicable Rodriguez v. Oto, 212 Cal.App.4th 1020 (2013) held language unambiguously releasing “all persons” from liability extended to third parties, entitling a stranger to summary judgment that the stranger had been released, in the absence of countervailing […]