How To Avoid Drafting An Unconscionable Arbitration Agreement. We usually summarize opinions, but here, the Court of Appeal does a good job itself of summing up how to draft an enforceable arbitration provision in an employment agreement. The case is Woods v. JFK Memorial Hospital, Inc., G050286 (4/3 Oct. 30, 2014) (Moore, Rylaarsdam, Thompson) […]
But Federal Law Is Not So Clear The issue in Operating Engineers Local Union No. 3 v. City of Porterville, Case No. F067635 (5th Dist. Oct. 2, 2014) (Kane, Levy, Detjen) (unpublished) is whether an agreement between a city and a union to submit an employment dispute to advisory arbitration is enforceable under the […]
Appellants’ Argument That There Was An “Implied Oral Understanding” Didn’t Cut It With The Court Of Appeal The arbitration clause in our next case began: “NOTICE: BY INITIALING IN THE SPACE BELOW YOU ARE AGREEING TO HAVE ANY DISPUTE ARISING OUT OF THE MATTERS INCLUDED IN THE ‘ARBITRATION’ PROVISION DECIDED BY NEUTRAL ARBITRATION . […]
Court of Appeal Was Unable To Find Precedent On Whether CCP 1284.3, Pertaining To Consumer Arbitrations, Applies To Employer-Employee Arbitrations, And Reaches Its Own Conclusion On March 12, 2014, I posted about an earlier Court of Appeal decision involving the same parties and the same arbitration agreement as here, in which the Court held […]
The Divergent Outcomes Are Explained By The Peculiar Facts (Of Course) 1. Cruise v. Kroger Co., B248430 (2/3 Aug. 27, 2014) (Aldrich, Klein – third member of panel unavailable). Employer Kroger Co., parent of Ralphs, which had loaded an arbitration policy with one-sided provisions favoring the employer, moved to compel arbitration of an employment […]
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 […]
Declarants Lacked Personal Knowledge If you want to compel arbitration, it sure helps to have a signed arbitration agreement, as defendant Wells Fargo discovered in Bachenheimer v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., B251980 (2nd Dist. Div. 5 July 21, 2014) (Turner, Mosk, Mink) (unpublished). Plaintiff, who suffered from traumatic brain injury, invested her savings […]
DOA: Neither Appellant Nor Respondents Were Able To Discover Copy Of A Written Agreement To Arbitrate It was undisputed that in the ordinary course of business, respondents required all employees to sign an arbitration agreement, and it was not clear why the appellant, Mr. Corselli “might have been an exception to this rule.” Apparently, the […]
Second District, Division 2 Opinion Reversing Trial Court’s Order Denying CarMax’s Motion To Compel Arbitration Is Now Certified For Publication On February 27, 2014, I posted about Casas v. CarMax Auto Superstores California LLC, Case No. B246392 (2nd Dist. Div. 2 Feb. 26, 2014) (Johnson, Chaney, Miller). At that time, the opinion, filed February […]
Court Would Not Compel Arbitration Here Where The Beneficiary Had Not Sought The Benefits Of The Trust Instrument, But Rather Challenged Its Validity Pamela McArthur v. Kristi McArthur, A137133 (1st Dist. Div. 5 March 11, 2014) (Bruiniers, Jones, Needham) is a case arising out of an inharmonious “sister act.” The scenario is not […]