Finality Of Order Compelling Arbitration Depends On Context, “But Our Review Of That Context Is Weighted Against Finality”, Says Ninth Circuit Panel The Federal Arbitration Act permits immediate appeal of “a final decision with respect to an arbitration,” 9 U.S.C. section 16(a)(3), which is a decision that “ends the litigation on the merits and […]
Sixteen Cases – And We Posted About Twelve Of Them . . . Plus One More Supreme Court Case . . . On January 10, 2014, I attended a meeting of the Orange County Bar Association Litigation Section. The law firm of Connor, Fletcher & Hedenkamp LLP made a presentation on new statutes, new […]
At The Beginning Of Their Case, Litigants Prefer Mediation To Most Adjudicative Procedures Dr. Donna Shestowsky, a Professor of Law at UC Davis, with a doctorate in psychology, has authored a very interesting study on litigants’ preferences, at the beginning of their case, for different dispute resolution procedures. Her article, “The Psychology of Procedural […]
Evidence Code Section 1119 Makes Anything Said During Mediation Inadmissible And Undiscoverable We have posted from time to time on mediation and confidentiality, noting how difficult it is to set aside a settlement agreement based on statements made during the mediation process: statements made during mediation, even to one’s own attorneys, are inadmissible. Cassel […]
Once Plaintiff Knew of Arbitrator’s Relationship With Defendant, Plaintiff Was On Inquiry Notice To Ask About Details An arbitrator must make certain disclosures within 10 days of receiving notice of his or her nomination to serve as a neutral arbitrator. See CCP section 1281.9. Once the arbitrator makes those disclosures, a party has 15 […]
A Roadmap For Drafting An Enforceable Settlement Agreement In our next case, the factors supporting enforceability of a settlement agreement provide a roadmap for drafting an enforceable agreement. Defendants appealed two identical judgments entered in related lawsuits, arguing that the trial court should have not enforced a settlement agreement because, among other things, […]
Parties’ Agreement To Extend Mediation Beyond Ten-Day Period Following Communication With Mediator Made Evidence Inadmissible Boy, does this case, involving a dispute between client (Porter) and attorneys (Wyner) have a history. After the California Supreme Court ruled in Simmons v. Ghaderi, 44 Cal.4th 570 (2008) that waivers of mediation confidentiality by either implication or […]
2012. Carol M. Highsmith Collection. Library of Congress.
At Stake: Allocation of $28M in Attorney’s Fees Among Plaintiffs’ Attorneys in Wal-Mart Wage and Hour Litigation The scenario: Plaintiffs’ class counsel prosecute wage and hour class action against Wal-Mart, plaintiffs’ counsel quarrel concerning proper allocation of $28M fee award, and the fee dispute is submitted to “binding, non-appealable arbitration” before an eminent arbitrator, […]
Judicial Expertise And Judicial Economy Weigh In Favor Of Letting The Trial Court Make The Call On This Waiver Issue In a 3-0 opinion penned by Presiding Justice Turner, the Court of Appeal holds, “[t]he trial court correctly ruled it, rather than an arbitrator, should decide the merits of the waiver by litigation conduct […]