The Article Is Entitled "The United States and the California Supreme Courts are not on the same page." My article in the June 10, 2022 online edition of the Daily Journal contrasts the analysis of waiver of the right to arbitrate in the SCOTUS case Morgan v. Sundance (2022) with the analysis in the […]
The California Supreme Court And SCOTUS Disagree About Waiver Of The Right To Arbitrate. In Quach v. Cal. Commerce Club, B310458 (2/1 5/10/22 ) (Bendix, Rothschild; Crandall sitting by designation, conc. and dsst.), Justice Bendix, writing the majority opinion, explained that California Commerce Club had not waived its right to arbitrate, despite the […]
Arbitration Agreements Must Be Placed On Equal Footing With Other Contracts — So Courts Can't Make Up Special Procedural Rules That Apply Only To Arbitration. In a unanimous opinion penned by Justice Elena Kagan, the Supreme Court holds that courts cannot create arbitration-specific federal procedural rules, such as the rule that prejudice is necessary […]
Panel Denies Motion For Rehearing And Request For En Banc. On September 15, 2021, we posted about Hodges v. Comcast, No. 19-16483 (9th Cir. 9/10/21) (Collins, VanDyke; Berzon, dsst.) In that case, the court held that non-waivable public injunctive relief (i.e., relief that falls under the McGill rule), must be forward looking and benefit the […]
Judge Berzon Dissents. Plaintiff Brandon Hodges brought a putative class action against Comcast, challenging its privacy and data-collection practices and seeking injunctive relief. The trial court denied Comcast's motion to compel arbitration, on the ground that Hodges sought public injunctive relief that could not be waived with an agreement to arbitrate. The Ninth Circuit […]
Delivery Truck Driver Had To Arbitrate Anyway. Section 1 of the FAA exempts from the Act’s coverage all “contracts of employment of seamen, railroad employees, or any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce.” In Romero v. Watkins and Shepard Trucking, No. 20-55768 (9th Cir. 8/19/21) (Fisher, Watford, Bumatay), the court […]
Zoller v. GCA Advisors Lays Out Rules For Determining Whether Statutory Claims Can Be Arbitrated. Zoller v. GCA Advisors, No. 20-15595 (9th Cir. 4/14/21) (Wallace, Smith, Restani), reverses the district court's denial of defendants' motion to compel arbitration of statutory employment discrimination and civil rights claims. Shannon Zoller, a corporate attorney turned investment […]
McGill Is Still Good Law. The action in Joe Maldonado v. Fast Auto Loans, Inc., G058645 (4/3 2/8/21) (O'Leary, Aronson, Thompson) centered on whether McGill v. Citibank, N.A., 2 Cal.5th 945 (2017) is still good California law and whether it has been preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act. McGill, which we posted about on […]
Complaint Filed November 11, 2016 And Motion To Compel Arbitration Filed November 20, 2018. Given two years elapsed between the time Plaintiff filed his putative class action wage and hour lawsuit, and the time Defendant filed its motion to compel arbitration, Defendant was going to have an uphill battle convincing the Court of Appeal […]
Iskanian Is Still Good Law In California. Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more! Henry V, Act III, Scene I. Employers continue to seek to enforce contractual waivers of the right to litigate in court, and employees continue to punch back, insisting on the right to litigate Private Attorneys General Act […]