Before Certification of Class, Court Lacked Personal Jurisdiction Over Putative Class Members Who Signed Arbitration Agreement Prospective lead plaintiff Nguyen filed putative class action complaint for alleged wage and hour violations against his former employer Inter-Coast International Training, Inc. Of the 220 individuals in the putative class, only 59 had signed an arbitration agreement […]
Hobson’s Choice? – Defendant Can Choose To Pay Arbitration Fees If Trial Court Determines Plaintiffs Are Unable To Pay “The only issue before us is whether plaintiffs, each of whom were subsequently granted permission to proceed in forma pauperis in the trial court, could likewise be excused from the obligation to pay fees associated […]
Also, Court Refuses To Sever Because Of Lack Of Mutuality No sooner did I post about McElroy v. Tenet Healthcare Corporation, a case reversing an order denying arbitration to a healthcare organization sued by a nurse, than I came across our next case, decided on the same day, and affirming an order denying […]
But Trial Court Was Correct That Class Arbitration Cannot Be “Inferred” From Silence On The Issue The trial court judge denied Tenet Health Care Corporation’s motion to compel arbitration of a wage-and-hour lawsuit brought by a hospital nurse. Tenet appealed and obtained a reversal. McElroy v. Tenet Health Care Corporation, G047300 (4th Dist. […]
Delay Does Not Equal Prejudice The Ninth Circuit has reversed the judgment of the district court denying Ernst & Young’s motion to compel arbitration, because the 9th Circuit concluded the employer’s delay in asserting arbitral rights did not result in prejudice. Richards v. Ernest & Young LLP, No. 11-17530 (9th Cir. Aug. 21, […]
Read the Fine Print As readers of this website will know, arbitration provisions are often located in boilerplate, found in take-it-or-leave-it contracts, raising procedural unconscionability issues in California. Our next case does not involve arbitration – though it does involve arbitration’s beloved mate, boilerplate. So what happens when a bank fails to read […]
Ninth Circuit Instructs District Court To Award Plaintiff/Appellant Interest On Non-Contract Damages In Arbitration Award Above: Frenchman’s Flat, Nevada. Atomic cannon test. 1953. Library of Congress. Judge Duffy’s wry comment upfront signaled where the Ninth Circuit panel was going on this one: “Lloyd’s pussyfooted for years only to eventually deny the claim […]
Court Refuses To Extend Camargo v. California Portland Cement Co. To Avoid Preclusive Effect Of Arbitration Award Camargo v. California Portland Cement Co., 86 Cal.App.4th 995 (2001) holds a labor arbitration pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) has no preclusive effect on a claim pursuant to the Fair Employment and Housing Act […]
Many “Imaginative Arguments” Rejected To Get To Simple Conclusion I’ve had the unpleasant experience of purchasing electronic equipment, only to discover later that the seller had booked the sale as a lease. Therefore, our next case, Murphy v. DirectTV, Inc., No. 11-57163 (9th Cir. July 30, 2013) (Wardlaw, J. author 3:0) (published) struck a […]
It Ain’t Over Till Its Over Plaintiff Abbey filed two lawsuits against Fortune Drive Associates, LLC, the first lawsuit concerning his business dealings, the second lawsuit seeking declaratory relief to stay an arbitration commenced by Fortune. Abbey prevailed in the second lawsuit, successfully staying the arbitration, and before the conclusion of the first lawsuit, […]