Liberal Arbitration Policy Of The FAA Doesn't Mean Nonparties Can Be Compelled To Arbitrate. The question in Walsh v. Arizona Logistics, Inc. and Larry Browne, No. 20-15765 (9th Cir. 18/21/2021) (Hunsaker, Fletcher, Miller) is "whether a private arbitration agreement binds the Secretary of Labor when bringing a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) enforcement action […]
Zoller v. GCA Advisors Lays Out Rules For Determining Whether Statutory Claims Can Be Arbitrated. Zoller v. GCA Advisors, No. 20-15595 (9th Cir. 4/14/21) (Wallace, Smith, Restani), reverses the district court's denial of defendants' motion to compel arbitration of statutory employment discrimination and civil rights claims. Shannon Zoller, a corporate attorney turned investment […]
Motion To Compel Arbitration Should Have Been Granted, And One Substantively Unconscionable Provision Was Severable. In Erendira Cisneros Alvarez v. Altamed Health Services Corp., B305155 (2/8 2/4/21) (Stratton, Bigelow, Grimes), the Court of Appeal reversed a trial court's order denying a motion to compel arbitration. The arbitration provision, which is part of an employer-employee […]
Employer Had No Duty To Call Arbitration Agreement To Attention Of Employee. When Michael Conyer became employed by Hula Media, the employer's handbook did not have an arbitration clause. Several months later, Conyer signed the "receipt and acknowledgment" page, which was the final page of a revised employee handbook that did include an arbitration […]
The FAA Exempts Transportation Workers Engaged In Interstate Commerce From Arbitration — What About The Amazon Delivery Person Who Brings The Package To Your Door? Many of us trying to avoid shopping during the pandemic have become familiar with the delivery of an Amazon package to our door. The delivery workers often drive their own […]
Limited Discovery And Lack Of Mutuality Were Important To Result. The Court of Appeal affirmed orders denying motions to compel arbitration in Scott Davis v. Stefan Kozak et al. and Scott Davis v. Red Bull North America, Inc., A156234 & A156238 (1/3 8/19/20) (Fujisaki, Siggins, Jackson), a consolidated appeal arising from an employee's lawsuit against […]
California Supreme Court Opinion Seeks To Promote Accessible And Affordable Procedures To Resolve Wage Disputes. I'm trying to catch up with some published opinions I failed to post on earlier this year. The most important, if only because it is a California Supreme Court opinion, is OTO, L.L.C. v. Kho, and the only benefit […]
The Practical Consequence Is That There Is No Private Right Of Action Under Section 558 To Collect Civil Penalties, And Hence Such A Claim Is Not Arbitrable. The California Supreme Court granted an employer's petition for review in ZB, N.A. v. Superior Court, S246711 ((Cal. Sup. Ct. 9/12/19) (Cuéllar, J.), "to resolve the […]
Employee's Claims Arose Before He Signed Arbitration Agreement. Is an arbitration agreement enforceable when the employee's claim arises before he signs the arbitration agreement? Yes, says the Court of Appeal in Franco v. Greystone Ridge Condominium, et al., G056559 (4/3 8/27/19) (Fybel, Aronson, Thompson). In this case, "[t]he parties' arbitration agreement is […]
Court Of Appeal Distinguishes The Broughton-Cruz Rule. Clifford v. Quest Software, Inc., G055858 (4/3 8/14/19) (Aronson, O'Leary, Goethals) addresses, "whether an employee's claim against his employer for unfair competition under Business and Professions Code section 17200 (the UCL) is arbitrable." Assuming the arbitration clause is valid and enforceable, the Court holds that […]