Key Issue: Who Is A Third Party Within The Meaning of 1281.2(c)? Reger v. Glaser Weil Fink Howard Avchen & Shapiro, LLP, G052352 (4/3 11/22/16) (Aronson, Bedsworth, Ikola) (unpublished) shows how a party with an otherwise valid arbitration clause can be thwarted from arbitrating through the application of Cal. Code Civ. Proc., section 1281.2(c) […]
“Judicial Economy Was Not . . A Proper Basis For Delaying Arbitration.” What’s a judge to do when confronted with the possibility of compelling thousands of individual grievances to arbitration, versus staying the arbitration of arbitral issues, while one case is tried? Here, the trial judge expediently stayed the individual arbitrations, and got reversed […]
Second District, Division 2, Rejects Appellants’ “Tortured” Reading Of Arbitration Provision And Affirms Order Denying Motion To Compel Arbitration. Plaintiffs, investors in an independent bookstore, refused the request of defendants, the bookstore and its prior owner, to arbitrate a business dispute. The key language in the arbitration provision read: “Notwithstanding the foregoing, no arbitrator […]
Fourth District, Division 3 Publishes To Distinguish Mansouri v. Superior Court. California Code of Civil Procedure, section 1281.2 requires that a party seeking to compel arbitration allege, “the existence of a written agreement to arbitrate a controversy and that a party thereto refuses to arbitrate such controversy.” The question in Hyundai Amco America, Inc. […]
A Statement of Decision Couldn’t Have Hurt Appellants Here The facts are somewhat odd here. Defendants/Appellants were involved in a fee dispute with Plaintiff/Respondent, a law firm. Defendants moved to compel arbitration, while arguing that the parties’ agreement, governed by the Los Angeles County Bar Association rules, did not allow the arbitrators to decide […]
Also, California Code of Civil Procedure, Section 1281.2, Did Not Prevent Arbitration, Because Federal Arbitration Act Applied And Preempted State Provision Defendants/appellants in the next case lost a petition to compel arbitration in the trial court. At first blush, they had waived their right to arbitrate, because they delayed bringing their motion to […]
Non-Parties To The Arbitration Agreement Were Not “Third Parties” Within The Meaning Of Section 1281.2(c). The trial court denied defendants’ motion to compel arbitration, under the third party litigation exception found in Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 1281.2(c) to the general rule requiring enforcement of an arbitration agreement. Here, only one of several defendants was […]
Compelling Arbitration Of the Claims Against Appellants Could Result In Conflicting Rulings On Issues Common To All Defendants Plaintiff Vox sued six defendants, including four former employees, alleging they conspired to “encumber” Vox’s business to the benefit of their planned competing business. The four former employees were parties to arbitration agreements with Vox, and […]
Spouses Are Not Automatically The Agents Of One Another When It Comes To Making Health Care Decisions Mrs. Goldman signed an arbitration provision on behalf of her husband who entered a nursing home. After Mr. Goldman died, Mrs. Goldman sued on behalf of her husband for elder abuse and related wrongs, and in […]
The Twist Here: A Defunct Member of FINRA Cannot Compel Arbitration – But Its Agent or Third Party Beneficiary Could Do So Here (Maybe) The Ronay Family Limited Partnership (Ronay) sued its financial advisor Robert R. Tweed, his investment firm TFI, and others, claiming Ronay had lost $4M as a result of bum investment […]