The Arbitration Provision is Unconscionable, and Concepcion Does Not Change the Analysis “Unconscionability” may sound like an abstract legal principle, but it usually entails a very fact-specific analysis. Try out these facts: plaintiffs are carpet layers; they speak Spanish; contracts were presented to them only in English; they have difficulty reading simple written English; […]
Employer Fired Employee Hours After He Signed Arbitration Agreement – How Much More Do You Need to Know? Plaintiff Ruzanno instituted arbitration proceedings against defendants Spectrum, Larson, Blake, and National University. The salient fact in this case is that Ruzanno signed the arbitration agreement hours before the employer fired him, purportedly without his […]
Delegation to the Arbitrator of the Power to Decide Whether the Arbitration Clause is Unconscionable Is “Horse of a Different Color” That Must Satisfy High Evidentiary Standard The employer, CantorCo2e, L.P., and an executive, appealed from an order denying their petition to compel arbitration of the claims under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) […]
Arbitration Provision Drafted By Employer in Contract of Adhesion Was Too One-Sided The next case, though unpublished, nicely lays out principles relevant to an arbitration clause in the employment context, including procedural and substantive unconscionability, Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preemption, and severability. Mayers v. Volt Managemnt Corp.,Case No. G045036 (4th Dist. Div. 3 […]
Leading Case of Armendariz v. Foundation Health Psychare Services, Inc. Sets Forth Minimum Requirements for Valid Arbitration Provision The leading case Armendariz v. Foundation Health Psychare Services, Inc., 24 Cal.4th 83 (2000), was authored by the late great Justice Stanley Mosk (1912 to 2001). The opinion is important because it provides that FEHA […]