Three Recent Cases Affirm Orders Denying Motions To Compel Arbitration. Anthony De Leon v. Pinnacle Property Management Services, LLC et al., No. 059801 (4/3 Dec. 8, 2021) — Unconscionability. Superior Court Judge Marks, sitting by assignment, authors the opinion, agreeing with the trial judge's denial of a motion to compel arbitration, on the grounds […]
The US Supreme Court Was In Agreement About This One. The Supreme Court has held unanimously, with Justice Sotomayor concurring, that the "New York Convention does not conflict with the enforcement of arbitration agreements by nonsignatories under domestic-law equitable estoppel doctrines." GE Energy Power Conversion France SAS v. Outokumpu Stainless USA, […]
Chief Circuit Judge Thomas Concurs, But Writes That Earlier Case Law Was Wrongly Decided. The Ninth Circuit has affirmed the district court's order compelling arbitration of racial discrimination claims under section 1981. Lambert v. Tesla, Inc., DBA Tesla Motors, Inc., No. 18-15203 (9th Cir. 5/17/19) (Opn. by Smith, Thomas conc.). Lambert, an […]
Quinn Emanuel And Spin-off LawFirm Selendy and Gay. Jack Newsham authored an April 24, 2019 article, appearing in New York Law Journal, and entitled, "Judge Dismisses Suit Against Quinn Emanuel by Partners of Spinoff, Sends to Arbitration." Newsham begins by quoting the judge, who wrote, "It is for the arbitrator in the first […]
Majority Rejects State Law Rule That Ambiguous Contracts Are Interpreted Against The Drafter Because . . . Frank Varela, an employee of Petitioner Lamps Plus, Inc., sued Lamps Plus because a hacker tricked Varela's employer into disclosing tax information about 1,300 employees. Mr. Varela was understandably miffed after a fraudulent income tax return was […]
Case Contains Rich Discussion Of Arbitration, PAGA, Federal Preemption, And Divergence Of State And Federal Law. Plaintiffs sued their former employer, alleging wage and hour violations and seeking civil penalties under California's Private Attorney General Act of 2004 (PAGA). Employer successfully petitioned to arbitrate, with one exception: the trial court held that under Iskanian v. […]
This Is One Of Those Rare Cases In Which A Delegation Clause Is Not Enforced. Generally, a court will decide arbitrability of a dispute unless that issue is clearly and unmistakably delegated to an arbitrator, as was the case here. But there are exceptions, and New Prime Inc. v. Oliveira (S. Ct. 1/15/19) […]
First SCOTUS Opinion Authored By Justice Kavanaugh Is Unanimous. "Under the Federal Arbitration Act, parties to a contract may agree that an arbitrator rather than a court will resolve disputes arising out of the contract." The question presented in Henry Schein, Inc., et al. v. Archer and White Sales, Inc., No. 17-1272 (S. […]
Issues Covered Include Class Action, Unconscionability, Powers Of Arbitrator, Enforcement, Non-Signatories, PAGA, Severability, Costs. Martinez v. Ready Pac Produce, Inc., B279225 (2/3 11/20/18) (Lavin, Egerton, Dhanidina) (Unpublished): Waiver Of Class Action Meant Employee Could Not Participate In Pending Class Action. The Court of Appeal reverses order denying employer Read Pac's motion to compel […]
Federal Arbitration Act Cases Pending Before SCOTUS Present Issues of Interpretation Of FAA, And Who Decides Gateway Issues. Henry Schein, Inc. v. Archer & White Sales Inc., scheduled to be argued in November, presents as an issue whether judge or arbitrator decides the gateway issue of arbitrability. The general rule is that the […]