A Typology Of PAGA Claims. Tricia Galarsa v. Dolgen California, LLC, F082040A (5th Dist. 2/24/23) (Franson, Pena, Snauffer), is an addition to the growing cottage industry of cases seeking to make sense of Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, 596 U.S. ___ [142 S.Ct. 1906] (2022) (Viking River). The case reverses a trial court […]
Trial Court's Denial Of Right To Amend Was Error. The Rocha brothers, Thomas and Jimmy, sued their former employer U-Haul Co. of California, and their manager Sandusky, alleging Sandusky had harassed them at work. The matter was arbitrated and the brothers lost their claim against U-Haul. However, before the matter went to arbitration, the […]
Court Holds That Viking River Cruises Requires Enforcement Of Pre-Dispute Arbitration Agreement. Judge Harutunian explains that the trial court "understandably" denied the employer's motion to compel arbitration based on a rule in California that "predispute agreements to arbitrate PAGA claims are unenforceable." He concludes: "We hold that this rule cannot survive the U.S. Supreme […]
Court Of Appeals Affirms Denial Of Motion To Compel Arbitration. It's alive, it's alive ! We harbor the suspicion that Navas v. Fresh Venture Foods, LLC, B31288A (2/6 11/21/22) (Gilbert, Yegan, Perren), was published so that the Court of Appeal could tell us that while Viking River Cruises v. Moriana overrules Iskanian, to […]
Trial Judge No. 1 Found The Arbitration Agreement Enforceable, No. 2 Found It Enforceable, And Court Of Appeal Agreed With No. 2. Chris Mills sued his former employer for disability discrimination and related employment claims. Employer FSG successfully enforced an arbitration agreement, the trial judge holding unconscionable provisions in the agreement were severable. An […]
Modified Opinion Addresses Viking River Cruises v. Moriana. In a partially published and modified opinion, the Court of Appeal holds that an employee's loss of Labor Code violation claims in arbitration does not preclude her from bringing a PAGA claim that the trial court had stayed. The basis for this ruling is that the […]
I Told You So. In my January 7, 2022 post about Viking Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, I predicted that the employee Angie Moriana would lose her argument that her Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) employment claim against her employer Viking Cruises, could avoid mandatory arbitration. I promised, "If my prediction proves to be […]
PAGA Cases Are Not A Good Analogy For A Lawsuit Brought Directly By The City, Rather Than By Workers. If the City of San Diego city attorney sues Instacart for violating the Unfair Competition Law, Business and Professions Act, §§ 17200 et seq., is the City bound by arbitration agreements between Instacart's Shoppers and […]
Two Recent California Cases Uphold The Rule In Iskanian. California courts have repeatedly ruled, following Iskanian, that employees cannot be forced to arbitrate PAGA representative claims. Two recent published opinions follow the Iskanian rule. Wing v. Chico Healthcare & Wellness Centre, No. B310232 (2/5 4/28/22) (affirming order denying motion to compel arbitration); Leshane v. […]
The United States Supreme Court Granted Cert On December 15, 2022. The issue: "Whether the Federal Arbitration Act requires enforcement of a bilateral arbitration agreement providing that an employee cannot raise representative claims, including under the California Private Attorneys General Act." Readers of this blog will know that California courts have repeatedly ruled, […]