Author: calmediation

Arbitration/Deadlines/Correction: Arbitrator Did Not Exceed Powers By Awarding Post-Termination Royalties After License Agreement Ended And Appellant Missed Deadline To Seek Correction Of Award

November 26, 2014 · Arbitration: Deadlines, Arbitration: Section 1286.6 Correction by Court

Post-Termination Of License Royalties Were Part Of $128.3M Arbitration Award. In Amkor Technology, Inc. v. Tessera, Inc., A139596 (1/3 Nov. 25, 2014) (Pollak, Siggins, Jenkins) (unpublished), the Court of Appeal affirmed part of a larger arbitration award for $128.3M. Procedural hurdle. Appellant Amkor stumbled on a procedural hurdle: Its petition to correct […]

Scope Of Arbitration: Dispute Was Outside Scope Of Arbitration Provision Relating To Conflicts Of Interest, As Court Of Appeal Refuses To “Handcuff” Parties To Position Taken In Discovery

November 25, 2014 · Arbitration: Scope

Plaintiffs Manage To Distance Themselves From Discovery Response, Allowing Them To Avoid Having To Arbitrate Their Malpractice Claims. By a deft interrogatory, Defendant tried to corner Plaintiffs into having to arbitrate their malpractice claims in LADT, LLC v. Greenberg Traurig, LLP, B246649 (2/1 Nov. 25, 2014) (Miller, Rothschild, Johnson) (unpublished). The gravamen of […]

Mediation/Settlement Agreement: No Explanation As To How Defendant’s Alleged Hearing Loss Impaired His Ability To Read And Understand A Written Settlement Agreement

November 25, 2014 · Mediation: Settlement Agreement

Court Enforces The Settlement Agreement. Plaintiff Jing Jing Dan sued Rambla Vista Enterprises, LLC and Joichi Gushiken alleging sexual harassment and unwelcome sexual advances by Gushiken, followed by termination of employment after she objected to her treatment. Four days after a mediation, the parties entered into a stipulation for settlement, whereby defendants agreed to […]

Federal Arbitration Act Preemption/Burden Of Proof/Employment: Employer Failing To Sustain Burden Of Showing FAA Preemption Fails To Enforce Arbitration Agreement

November 21, 2014 · Arbitration: Burden of Proof, Arbitration: Employment, Arbitration: Federal Arbitration Act

Labor Code Section 229 Expressly Provides Wage Claims Were Not Subject To Arbitration. When state law provides a statutory exemption from arbitration, it’s not enough to assert Federal Arbitration Act preemption: “A party seeking to enforce an arbitration agreement has the burden of showing FAA preemption.” Lane v. Francis Capital Management LLC, 224 Cal.App.4th […]

Gateway Issues: A Primer On Arbitrability

November 20, 2014 · Arbitration: Delegation, Arbitration: Gateway Issues, Arbitration: Scope

Richard Chernick, Esq. of JAMS Has Written “A Primer On Arbitrability”. I have posted frequently about “gateway” arbitrability issues, including recent developments concerning gateway arbitrability issues in class and representative actions, and distinctions between substantive and procedural gateway arbitrability issues. See my posts of November 17, 2014, and October 13, 2014. In fact, “Gateway […]

Arbitration/Gateway Issues: Judge, Not Arbitrator, Gets To Decide Whether Agreement To Arbitrate Authorizes Class Arbitration When Contract Is Silent – And That Goes For Representative Arbitration Too

November 17, 2014 · Arbitration: Class, Arbitration: Delegation, Arbitration: Employment, Arbitration: Gateway Issues

PAGA Is A Representative, Not A Class Action, And So Judge Gets To Decide Whether PAGA Action Is Subject To Arbitration. Defendant and employer Garden Fresh Restaurant Corporation petitioned for a writ of mandate seeking a writ directing the trial court to vacate part of an order leaving it to the arbitrator to determine […]

Arbitration/Collective Bargaining/Federal Arbitration Act: Court of Appeal Finds That Individual Arbitration Agreement Not Inconsistent With Collective Bargaining Agreement Is Enforceable

November 15, 2014 · Arbitration: Class, Arbitration: Collective Bargaining, Arbitration: Employment, Arbitration: Federal Arbitration Act

Where Federal Preemption Applies, The Employee’s Contract Cannot Deprive The Employee Of A Benefit – Such As The Right to File a Lawsuit Instead Of Arbitrating – If The Collective Bargaining Agreement Provides The Benefit. Denying employer’s motion to compel arbitration, and both parties’ sanction motions, the trial judge explained: “It’s clear to me […]

Arbitration/Enforceability/Consumers: Reasonable Person Wouldn’t Understand Purchasing A Vehicle Would Simultaneously Bind To Contract With Satellite Radio Service And Require Arbitration

November 11, 2014 · Arbitration: Class, Arbitration: Consumers, Arbitration: Enforceability

Lack Of Consent Is The Problem With The Arbitration Agreement Here. In an opinion authored by Judge Pregerson, the Ninth Circuit reverses the district court’s order dismissing a putative class action and granting Sirius XM Radio Inc.’s motion to compel arbitration. Knutson v. Sirius XM Radio Inc., No. 12-56120 (9th Cir. Nov. 10, 2014) […]

Arbitration/Class Action Waiver: Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles Compels Reversal Of Order Denying Ralphs’ Petition To Arbitrate

November 11, 2014 · Arbitration: Class, Arbitration: Waiver

Legal Rationale Forming The Basis For The Trial Court’s Ruling Has Been Abrogated By Iskanian. The California Supreme Court held in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC, 59 Cal.4th 348 (2014) that Gentry v. Superior Court had been abrogated by the SCOTUS decision in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 563 U.S. __ [131 […]

Arbitration/Enforceability: Substantial Evidence Supporting Trial Court’s Determination Stroke Victim Lacked Capacity To Enter Into Arbitration Agreement

November 7, 2014 · Arbitration: Enforceability, Arbitration: Unconscionability

Consent To Contract Must Be Free, And An “Unsound Mind” Is Related To Concept Of Consent. In an unpublished opinion, the Court of Appeal has affirmed the trial court’s order denying a nursing facility’s petition to arbitrate, because the plaintiff lacked mental capacity to enter into the arbitration agreement. Rodriguez v. Windsor Care […]