Party Seeking To Vacate Arbitration Award Must Satisfy Separate Deadlines. The thirty-two page slip opinion in Valencia v. Mendoza, B325803 (2/7 7/1/24) (Feuer, Martinez, Segal) affirms a $432 K award in favor of plaintiffs/respondents the Valencias. The underlying dispute concerned failure to disclose defects in a home sale. The most important point relates to deadlines […]
Arbitrator Bias Furnishes A Proper Basis To Vacate An Award. A canceled real estate sale resulted in an arbitration award adverse to the seller. Seller Pham appealed, on the grounds that the arbitrator was biased. While the grounds for vacating an arbitration award are exceedingly narrow, bias can constitute misconduct, and thus serve as […]
Missing The 100-Day Deadline For Seeking Vacatur Of An Arbitration Award Was Not The End Of The Story Here. It is not possible to improve on the California Supreme Court's summary of the case and its holding: "Law Finance Group, LLC, prevailed in an arbitration against Sarah Plott Key and filed a petition […]
Violating Public Policy Can Be Ground For Vacating Award. Liquidated damages are presumed invalid in a consumer contract and presumed valid in a non-consumer contract. The Honchariws borrowed $5.6M secured by real property in a "non-consumer" contract — so a liquidated damages provision was presumptively valid when they defaulted on the loan, and an […]
Arbitrator Acted Within Nonstatutory Power To Amend Award and Also Exercised Equitable Powers. Starr v. Mayhew, G060277 (4/2 9/1/22, cert for pub. 9/28/22) (Moore, Goethals, Moteike) involved a dispute among members of an LLC as to their respective ownership interests and as to whether Mayhew, who managed the LLC, had a right to be […]
A Case Of First Impression. Unless you practice in this area, you may not know that in an uninsured motorist arbitration between the motorist with uninsured motorist coverage and her insurance company, discovery disputes are addressed to the court, not to the arbitrator. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company v. Cora Robinson, A158467 (1/1 […]
Deadline To Move To Vacate Arbitration Award Is Jurisdictional. Cover, First Edition of Charles Dickens' Bleak House. 1852-53. Locked in sororicidal probate litigation over the disposition of mom and dad's estate, Sarah Plott Key prevailed at first, entitling her to one-third of her parents' estate which, at the time "was equivalent to about $20 […]
Plaintiff/Appellant Did Not Need To Prove That Arbitrator's Ex Parte Communications Led To Adverse Award. A rather unusual case, this. Joanna G. Grabowski, an in pro per plaintiff/appellant successfully vacated an adverse arbitration award in a malpractice arbitration she brought against Kaiser. Joanna G. Grabowski v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., et al, No. […]
Who Decides Illegality Of A Contract, The Arbitrator Or The Court? Michael Bacall, an actor, was represented by Jeffrey Shumway, an attorney, who provided "legal/management services and [Chief Content Officer] services." Bacall alleged Shumway failed to disclose he was "inactive" with the State Bar, and Bacall terminated the contract with Shumway and his company […]
Years Earlier, The Parties Had Agreed To The Appointment Of A Particular Arbitrator. Brothers Harry and Ted Soussos fought over control of family business interests. Harry moved to compel arbitration, and Ted timely objected. The arbitrator refused to recuse himself, and Harry obtained an award in his favor. The rub here is that several […]