Author: calmediation

News/Confidentiality: Don’t Crow About Confidential Settlement On Facebook

March 1, 2014 · News

       Okay, so we don’t really know if the following involves mediation, but it was too good a news tidbit to pass up.      As reported in the Miami Herald, and Slate, Dana Snay, a Miami teenager, torpedoed dad’s age-discrimination settlement with his employer, Gulliver Preparatory School, by crowing on Facebook:     “Mama and […]

Arbitration/Waiver/Standard of Review: In Wrongful Death Action, Second District, Division 7 Upholds Trial Court’s Finding That Right To Arbitration Had Been Waived

Defendants Simply Could Not Overcome Substantial Evidence Standard      After their 52-year-old sibling died following bariatric surgery, plaintiffs sued surgery center defendants for wrongful death.  No, surgery center defendants did not immediately move to compel arbitration.  Instead, they demurred, they moved to change venue, they propounded discovery that plaintiffs answered, and they took three depositions. […]

Arbitration/Employment/Enforceability: Second District, Division 2 Reverses Trial Court’s Order Denying CarMax’s Motion To Compel Arbitration

  Unilateral Right To Alter Or Terminate Agreement Does Not Necessarily Make It “Illusory”    Employee Casas sued his employer CarMax, alleging wrongful termination and related causes, prompting CarMax to move to compel arbitration.  However, the trial court denied CarMax’s motion to compel, buying its argument that the arbitration agreement was “illusory” because the Dispute […]

Pending Cases to Watch: Arbitration Cases For SCOTUS

February 26, 2014 · Pending Cases

  BG Group PLC v. Republic of Argentina      This case was argued before the Supreme Court on December 2, 2013.  It presents a unique fact pattern concerning arbitration between an investor (BG Group PLC) and a sovereign state (Argentina).  The issue to be resolved by this appeal to the Supreme Court is whether a […]

News: Dropbox Is Adding An Arbitration Clause To Its Terms Of Service

February 23, 2014 · News

Dispute Resolution Terms Incorporate Provisions Popularized By AT&T v. Concepcion      Dropbox, that marvelous tool allowing you to share folders with your other computers, as well as with third parties, has notified its users that it is updating its terms of service, effective March 24, 2014.  One change will be the addition of arbitration clauses […]

Mediation/Confidentiality: Mediation Privilege Prevents Admission Of Evidence Of Settlement Discussions, Making It Impossible To Challenge Terms Of Release

February 6, 2014 · Mediation: Confidentiality

Here, Release Of Attorneys From Malpractice Claim Resulted In Prevailing Party Status and Substantial Attorney’s Fees Award      In Kim v. Lim, Ruger & Kim, No. B240378 (2nd Dist. Div. 4 Feb. 6, 2014) (Epstein, Willhite, Suzukawa) (unpublished), the Court of Appeal ruled that a couple, who lost a malpractice action, had unambiguously released their […]

Arbitration/1281.2: Order Denying Motion To Compel Arbitration Is Affirmed Because Of Risk Arbitration Would Lead To Inconsistent Results

February 6, 2014 · Arbitration: Section 1281.2

Compelling Arbitration Of the Claims Against Appellants Could Result In Conflicting Rulings On Issues Common To All Defendants      Plaintiff Vox sued six defendants, including four former employees, alleging they conspired to “encumber” Vox’s business to the benefit of their planned competing business.  The four former employees were parties to arbitration agreements with Vox, and […]

Arbitration/Waiver/References: First District, Div. 4 Agrees Defendants Waived Right To Arbitrate, And Appointment Of Referee Is Moot

February 1, 2014 · Arbitration: Waiver, References

By Considerably Expanding Scope Of Complaint, Party Might Have Reopened Opponent’s Right To Arbitrate That Has Been Waived – But It Didn’t Happen Here      Defendants appealed the trial court’s denial of their petition to arbitrate, and their appeal from an order appointing a referee.  Boschetti v.  Pacific Bay Investments, Inc., et al., No. A134195 […]

Recommended Reading: Inside the Caucus: An Empirical Analysis Of Mediation From Within

January 30, 2014 · Reviews

Article Offers Statistical Analysis Of What Works In Mediation       UCLA School of Law offered a program today presented by Daniel and Lisa Klerman, entitled “Inside the Caucus: An Empirical Analysis of Mediation from Within”, based on an article of the same name.  Poking around on the Internet, I found that the article is available […]