Category: Arbitration: Class

Arbitration/Class Actions/Awards: Arbitrator Awards Fees Of $10.45 M To Class Counsel In Canadian Lawsuit

October 3, 2014 · Arbitration: Award, Arbitration: Class

Arbitrator Focused On Risk Incurred By Counsel And Degree Of Success Achieved Above: Ever-vigilant Canadian mounted policeman. ca. 1917. Library of Congress. Shawn Irving and Catherine Gleason-Mercier of the Canadian law firm Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP reported on September 30, 2014, that an arbitrator has awarded $10.45 M to class counsel in […]

Arbitration/Employment/Waiver/Class Action: Following Iskanian, 2nd District Div 2 Holds Employee Cannot Waive PAGA Representative Claims

September 8, 2014 · Arbitration: Class, Arbitration: Employment, Arbitration: Waiver

Also,There Was No Basis Here For Sending The PAGA Representative Claims To Arbitration Rather Than Court In Jones v. J.C. Penney Corporation, Inc., Case No. B246674 (2/4 Sept. 5, 2014) (Edmon, Willhite, Manella) (unpublished), plaintiff brought a representative claim under the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA), alleging employer J.C. […]

Arbitration/Nonsignatories: Ninth Circuit Raps Browsewrap Contract, Affirming Order Denying Motion To Compel Arbitration

August 18, 2014 · Arbitration: Class, Arbitration: Enforceability, Arbitration: Nonsignatories

A Progression: From Shrink Wrap To Browsewrap To Clickwrap Contracts Above: Shrink wrapped helicopters to be shipped to Iraq. US Navy photo, Bart Jackson. Wikimedia Commons. In a case that will be important to e-commerce merchants, and on-line consumers, a Ninth Circuit panel holds that Barnes & Noble’s website provided insufficient notice of […]

Arbitration/Class: Trial Court’s Order Denying Class Certification Because Putative Members Signed Releases And Arbitration Agreements Is Reversed

August 15, 2014 · Arbitration: Class

Popping Affirmative Defenses Without Adequate Notice Surprised Plaintiffs The employer here tried to gut plaintiff’s efforts to certify a class of 53 individuals in a wage dispute by producing evidence that “44 of those individuals had settled their claims or agreed to arbitrate their claims against the defendant.” The employer was successful in the […]

Arbitration/Employment/Class/Waiver: Second District, Div. 1 Follows Supreme Court Iskanian Precedent Holding That Right To Bring A Representative Action Under The Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) Can’t Be Waived

July 30, 2014 · Arbitration: Class, Arbitration: Employment, Arbitration: Waiver

Waiver Is Contrary To Public Policy And PAGA Dispute Is Between Employer And The State. “The sole issue presented on appeal is the enforceability of a waiver of the right to bring a representative action . . . under PAGA . . . That issue has recently been resolved against Pep Boys by the […]

Class Arbitration/Appealability: Second District, Div. 2 Agrees With Those Courts That Have Ruled That Arbitrator, Rather Than Court, Decides Whether Parties Agreed To Class Arbitration

July 22, 2014 · Arbitration: Appealability, Arbitration: Class

Law Concerning “Gateway Issues” Is Messy Court Of Appeal Also Had To Overcome Procedural Hurdle Of Appealability To Address The “Gateway” Procedural Issue So-called “gateway” issues concerning whether the parties have submitted a particular dispute to arbitration are generally decided by a judge, not an arbitrator, unless the parties have agreed to delegate the […]

Arbitration/Class Action/Waiver: Two Ninth Circuit Opinions Hold Class Action Waivers In Arbitration Agreements Are Valid

June 24, 2014 · Arbitration: Class, Arbitration: Waiver

Yesterday, June 23, 2014, the California Supreme Court agreed that an arbitration class action waiver in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles was enforceable. See my June 23 post. On the same day, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that class action waivers are valid – at least in the circumstances of the […]

Arbitration/Employment/Class/Waiver/FAA/Public Policy: California Supreme Court Rules in Iskanian: Yes On Waiver Of Class Action, No On Waiver Of PAGA Claims

June 23, 2014 · Arbitration: Class, Arbitration: Employment, Arbitration: Federal Arbitration Act, Arbitration: Public Policy, Arbitration: Waiver

Iskanian Decision Yields Opinion Of Four, Plus Justice Chin, Concurring, Plus Justice Werdegar, Concurring And Dissenting In a much-awaited decision, the California Supreme Court has ruled that a state’s refusal to enforce a class action waiver on grounds of public policy or unconscionability is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), but that […]

Arbitration/Class Action Waiver/FAA/Consumers: Court of Appeal Holds That Agreement Inviting Consideration Of Unenforceability Of Class Arbitration Procedures Allowed Trial Court To Invalidate Class Action Waiver

April 8, 2014 · Arbitration: Class, Arbitration: Consumers, Arbitration: Federal Arbitration Act, Arbitration: Waiver

Sticking To Its Contract Interpretation Guns, Second District, Division One, Shoots Down Federal Decisions The Court of Appeal has upheld a trial court order denying a motion to dismiss or stay class action litigation and to compel arbitration, basing its conclusion on principles of contract interpretation. Imburgia v. DIRECTV, Inc., B239361 (2nd Dist. […]

Arbitration/Waiver/Employment/Class Action/FAA Preemption: Second District, Division 2, Holds That Employee Can Be Compelled To Arbitrate A Private Attorney General Act Employment Claim Individually, Thereby Enforcing Class Action Waiver

March 16, 2014 · Arbitration: Class, Arbitration: Employment, Arbitration: Federal Arbitration Act, Arbitration: Waiver

Court Acknowledges That Private Attorney General Laws “May Be Severely Undercut By Application Of The FAA” On March 12, at the end of my previous post, I commented “we are still in a somewhat fuzzy area regarding FAA preemption of California statutory rights to file a court action – especially in those instances where […]