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 […]
And Prospect Of Inconsistent Results Meant Father's Claims Could Not Be Arbitrated While Children's Claims Were Litigated. Nursing homes continue to be a fertile source of cases concerning the enforcement of arbitration clauses. This is not surprising, because a patient, especially an elderly patient, who enters a nursing facility may be infirm or incompetent; […]
Quinn Emanuel And Spin-off LawFirm Selendy and Gay. Jack Newsham authored an April 24, 2019 article, appearing in New York Law Journal, and entitled, "Judge Dismisses Suit Against Quinn Emanuel by Partners of Spinoff, Sends to Arbitration." Newsham begins by quoting the judge, who wrote, "It is for the arbitrator in the first […]
Justice Segal Dissents. An employee can impliedly accept an arbitration agreement by continuing to work for his or her employer. But what happens when the employee explicitly rejects the arbitration agreement yet continues to work, after the employer has said that continuing to work will bind the employee to arbitration? The trial court […]
Language Of Arbitration Agreement Was Sufficient To Require Arbitration, But . . . . In Salgado v. Carrows Restaurants, Inc., B285756 (2/6 2/26/19) (Gilbert, Yegan, Tangeman), the trial court denied employer's motion to compel arbitration, on the grounds that "Defendants have failed to demonstrate that the arbitration agreement applies to a suit that […]
Issues Covered Include Class Action, Unconscionability, Powers Of Arbitrator, Enforcement, Non-Signatories, PAGA, Severability, Costs. Martinez v. Ready Pac Produce, Inc., B279225 (2/3 11/20/18) (Lavin, Egerton, Dhanidina) (Unpublished): Waiver Of Class Action Meant Employee Could Not Participate In Pending Class Action. The Court of Appeal reverses order denying employer Read Pac's motion to compel […]
Defendant Seeking To Compel Arbitration Had Argued That Claim To Be Submitted To Arbitration Accrued Before Rule Changed. This case presents a somewhat unusual situation, in that the Court of Appeal had to construe an arbitration agreement that was not directly between the parties. Instead, the parties independently agreed to participate in an […]
Existence Of Agreement Was Established With Affidavit Of A Person With First-Hand Knowledge Of Procedures. Early Example Of Credit Card. Plaintiff Yenko filed a putative class action lawsuit against Crown Asset Management, LLC, a debt buyer that purchased plaintiff's alleged charged-off credit card debt. The trial court held that Crown, as the assignee of […]
As Arbitration Clauses Proliferate, So Too Do Motions Concerning Enforcement Of Those Clauses. I have not done a statistical study, but it is certainly my perception that in recent years there is more and more law and motion practice concerning the enforceability of arbitration clauses in California courts. First, the clauses have proliferated in contracts. […]