SCOTUS Resolved Circuit Split. Adrian Jules sued his former employer, Chateau Marmont, in federal court in New York alleging employment discrimination under federal and state law. The district court stayed the case pending arbitration under FAA §3. Ruling against Jules, the arbitrator awarded sanctions to respondents. When respondents returned to federal court to confirm the […]
Ramirez v. Charter Communications, Inc. (Ramirez III), (2025). We previously posted on September 28, 2024, about the California Supreme Court’s Ramirez v. Charter Communications 2024 decision addressing unconscionability and severability in employment arbitration agreements, in which the California Supreme Court agreed that various provisions in an arbitration agreement were unconscionable, but remanded to determine whether […]
The Case Is Morris S. Getzels v. State Bar. We are pleased to be able to give readers a direct link to our July 2, 2025 Daily Journal article about the Getzels case. The article is entitled “The curious exclusion of inactive attorneys from mediation.” And here is a link: https://calmediation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Getzels-DJ-7-2-25.pdf
Typepad announced rather precipitously that this blog would become extinct at the end of September 2025. Yikes! We had to scramble to migrate this blog from Typepad to a new platform. Since we have published this blog since 2012, and it has 1200 posts about California mediation and arbitration, it seemed worth expending some time, […]
And Wishing You A Happy, Healthy, Productive 2025. Library of Congress. Photographer: Carol M. Highsmith. Date: 12/31/21. "This old auto-body shop in Paxton, a village west of North Platte in southwest Nebraska, isn't fixing cars any more but someone's around to wish passersby a happy new year."
What Vestigial Jurisdiction Does The Court Retain After Granting A Motion To Compel Arbitration? Plaintiff Dee Lew-Williams, the successor in interest to her late physician husband, sued defendants for embezzlement. Defendants successfully moved to compel arbitration. But Lew-Williams, claiming lack of funds, was unable to prosecute the arbitration, and so defendants moved the trial […]
The Issue Was Resolved By The California Supreme Court In July 2023, And Lower Courts Are In-Step. Earlier this year the California Supreme Court addressed the following question: "[W]hether an aggrieved employee who has been compelled to arbitrate claims under PAGA that are 'premised on Labor Code violations actually sustained by' the plaintiff . […]
Happy New Year To All My Readers ! May The New Year Do Better! Puck. Jan. 4, 1899. J.S. Pughe, artist. Library of Congress.
Employers Take Heed: Promptly Pay Arbitration Fees Or Lose The Right To Arbitrate. California Code of Civil Procedure, sections 1281.97 and 1281.98 provide that if a company or business that drafts an arbitration agreement does not pay arbitration fees within 30 days of when fees are due, the company or business is in material […]
Suggestion: Don't Wait Two Years To Bring A Motion To Compel Arbitration. The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's order denying Appellants' motion to compel arbitration. Akira Kokubu, Plaintiff, Cross-defendant and Respondent, v. Takashi Sudo et al, Defendants, Cross-defendants and Respondents; Park Rolling Hills, LLC, et al., Defendants, Cross-complainants and Appellants, No. B310220 […]