In Richey v. AutoNation, Inc. (filed 1/29/15) S207536, the California Supreme Court responds, “No.”   The court concluded that even if the arbitrator in that case committed error in accepting the untested “honest belief” defense, any error did not deprive the employee plaintiff of an unwaivable statutory right because of the overriding rationale that employee was […]

In Safari Associates v. Superior Court (Tarlov) (filed 12/2/14) 2014 DJDAR 15943, Tarlov had been the managing partner of Safari. The parties reached a settlement of disputes arising from the termination of this relationship in the form of a release agreement. That agreement specified that Safari’s claim for reimbursement for personal expenses paid by Tarlov […]

In Tiri v. Lucky Chances, Inc. (filed 5/15/14) A136675, Plaintiff Tiri had signed an arbitration agreement with defendant, her employer. Included in the agreement was a provision that the arbitrator, instead of the court, would determine all issues of enforceability of the agreement. Upon her termination, plaintiff sued for wrongful termination, and defendant filed a […]

In Horath v. Hess (filed 4/10/14) D063124 & D063709, prior to arbitration of an automobile personal injury case, the parties stipulated in writing to the acceptance of a minimum award of $44,000 and a maximum of $100,000; the agreement was not disclosed to the arbitrator who was to independently determine his award. Any costs awarded […]

In Sanchez v. CarMax Auto Superstores California, LLC (filed 2/6/14, publication ordered 3/4/14) B244772, plaintiff signed an arbitration agreement as a part of his employment application. He was hired as service manager and remained in that position until he was terminated about 4½ years later. In his lawsuit, plaintiff claimed the reason cited for his […]

The U.S. Supreme Court found in At&t Mobility LLC v. Concepcion (2011) 563 U.S. ___ [131 S.Ct. 1740] that a California Supreme Court rule stated in that case, which found the arbitration clause agreed upon between the parties was invalid due to unconscionability, was preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act. Shortly before Concepcion, the state […]

In City of Los Angeles v. Superior Court ( filed 6/21/13) S192828, City, after declaring a fiscal emergency, placed civilian employees on a mandatory unpaid furlough requiring one less 8-hour work day during each 80-hour work period. Employees filed grievances. Wage and hour provisions of the collectively bargained MOU provided that employees would be compensated […]

In Gray v. Chiu (filed January 22, 2013) 2013 DJDAR 944, Judge Haber (Retired), a member of ADR Services, Inc., the dispute provider resolution organization in this case, was selected as the third member of an arbitration panel to preside as a neutral arbitrator in this medical malpractice matter. He sent disclosure statements to the […]

One of the earlier blog articles that I wrote on this site commented on the trend of California appellate cases questioning the fairness of arbitration clauses that often left the non-drafting party without any bargaining power. While many of these situations arise in the context of disadvantaged consumers and employees directly contracting with the drafting […]

In Gorlach v. The Sports Club Company. B233672 (filed October 16, 2012), the Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Four, affirmed the trial court’s denying defendant’s motion to compel arbitration. While the defendant conceded that plaintiff never signed a written contract to arbitrate, defendant claimed equitable estoppel or implied-in-fact agreement. Plaintiff Susan Gorlach resigned […]