The Fifth District Rules That It Is Not Enough For The Employee To Say He Doesn't Remember Signing After The Employer Produces Employee's Handwritten Signature. Carlos Ramirez filed a class action lawsuit against his employer Golden Queen Mining Company LLC alleging wage and hour violations. The employer moved to compel arbitration and produced an […]
Shifting Burdens Of Proof. Isabel Garcia sued her employer and its sales manager, alleging sexual harassment. Defendants petitioned to compel arbitration, and carried their initial burden by producing an arbitration agreement. But Garcia pushed back, claiming she had not signed, putting the employer to the test of authenticating her electronic signature. The employer was […]
Mattson Obtained The Stay Of Litigation Against Applied Material's Lawsuit Despite Not Having Arbitration Agreement With Applied Material. Preliminarily, our next case, Mattson Technology, Inc. v. Applied Material, Inc., A165378 (1/5 11/1/23) (Burns, Jackson, Simons), is somewhat confusing to read. Mattson is designated as plaintiff and appellant in the case heading, though Applied, which […]
Nursing Homes Continue To Create Arbitration Problems. If our readers use the sidebar search box, they will discover other cases involving nursing homes. Sometimes the problem of enforcing an arbitration agreement involving a nursing home resident arises because a relative signs for the resident, and issues arise as to whether the relative had authority […]
No Evidence Of Signed Agreement. Bruno Fleming sued Oliphant Financial for allegedly violating the California Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Oliphant unsuccessfully petitioned the trial court to compel arbitration. The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's order denying Oliphant's petition to compel arbitration. Fleming v. Oliphant Financial, LLC, A165837 (1/1 1/31/23) (Devine, […]
After Employee Questioned The Agreement To Arbitrate, Burden Of Proof Shifted To Employer. Hope Gamboa sued Northeast Community Clinic for employment-related claims. The employer moved to arbitrate. The trial court denied the motion. Affirmed. No agreement to arbitrate existed. Gamboa v. Northeast Community Clinic, No. 394833 (2/7 11/30/21) (Ibarra, Perluss, Feuer). Why couldn't […]
California courts continue to scrutinize cases in which hospitals and nursing homes seek to enforce arbitration provisions. The medical settings often involve patients who are old, quite sick (or both), hurried admission processes, and urgency. These cases remind me of a story my law school torts professor told, about taking his daughter, who had […]
Plaintiff Had To Jump Through Hoops To Get To Arbitration Clause. For our next case, we add a new sidebar category: "Arbitration: Internet Commerce." "This case tests the outer limits of what constitutes a 'reasonably conspicuous' provision as part of the terms of usage so prevalent in the adhesion contracts of modern internet commerce," […]
However, Ninth Circuit Panel Did Indicate In A Footnote That It Might Have Been Wrong To Say Certain ERISA Claims Inarbitrable As A Matter Of Law. In Munro v. University of Southern California (USC), No. 17-55550 (9th Cir. July 24, 2018) (published) (Thomas, Chief Judge, author; Friedland, Circuit Judge; and Zilly, W.D. Wash. District […]
Former Employee Did Not Sign Arbitration Clause, Denied Receiving Letter Where Employer Tried To Create A Ratification, And Subsequent Compensation Program Signature Did Not Evince An Agreement To Arbitrate. The facts of this case were hotly contested. Former employee, after 13 years with employer, was presented with a handbook containing an arbitration agreement to […]