On-Line Gaming Was The Context For The Case. The world of on-line gaming presents challenges to companies wishing to bind players to arbitration. As our next case illustrates, gamers are likely to be treated as unsophisticated consumers with unequal bargaining power. Pavel Gostev v. Skillz Platform, Inc., A164407 (1/2 2/28/23) (Miller, Stewart, Richman). […]
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 […]
Panel Is Very Critical Of Confidentiality Provisions In Sexual Harassment Dispute With Arbitration Provision. Some California Appellate panels and justices make it a practice to neatly summarize the opinion in the first paragraph. I like that practice. Our next case, in which the Court of Appeal issued a peremptory writ of mandate issue directing […]
Proof Of Handwritten Signature May Be Easier Than Proof Of Electronic Signature. The trial court found that the employer failed to prove employees had signed an arbitration agreement, that the agreement was unconscionable, and the court rejected the employer's efforts to compel arbitration. The Court of Appeal reversed. Leroye Iyere et al. v. Wise […]
Ambiguous And Unconscionable. The threshold question in Bernell Gregory Beco v. Fast Auto Loans, Inc., G059382 (4/3 12/14/22) (Moore, Bedsworth, Sanchez) was whether the court or the arbitrator should determine the issue of arbitrability. The arbitration agreement included a delegation provision stating that covered: "any dispute concerning the arbitrability of any such controversy or […]
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 […]
Existence Of Agreement Was Not An Issue To Delegate To Arbitrator. Fiona Trinity sued Life Insurance Company of North America and individuals (LINA parties) for employment-related claims. The LINA Parties moved unsuccessfully to compel arbitration in the trial court, and the Court of Appeal affirmed. The LINA parties could not establish the […]
Substantive Unconscionability To Trip Over. This is a tragic case involving the death of a recently graduated UCLA engineering student in the throes of an acute psychotic episode. He was briefly in a care facility where the precariousness of his condition was recognized. Allegedly he required constant supervision, which was not provided, and he […]
Joseph Merced Nunez v. Cycad Management LLC, B306986 (2/2 3/18/22) (Lui, Ashmann-Gerst, Chavez). Nunez, a gardener, sued Cycad for employment-related claims. Cycad moved, unsuccessfully, to compel arbitration. The Court of Appeal now holds: "Substantial evidence supports factual findings that the Agreement is adhesive because it was presented to Nunez as a nonnegotiable condition of […]