Justia California Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

An agreement to arbitrate a Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA) claim, entered into before an employee is statutorily authorized to bring such a claim on behalf of the state, is an unenforceable predispute waiver. The Court of Appeal held that the trial court properly denied a petition to compel arbitration of respondents' claim under PAGA. In this case, any agreement by respondents was entered into before they were authorized to bring a PAGA claim. View "Julian v. Glenair, Inc." on Justia Law

The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's order denying defendants' petition to compel arbitration of a dispute with plaintiffs. The court held that the threshold issue of whether the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), 9 U.S.C. 1-16, applies or is preempted by the McCarran-Ferguson Act, 15 U.S.C. 1001-1015, and section 25- 2602.01(f) of the Nebraska Uniform Arbitration Act (NUAA) was for the court, and not the arbitrator, to decide; the trial court did not err by concluding that section 25-2602.01(f) of the NUAA is a statute that regulates the business of insurance within the meaning of the McCarran-Ferguson Act; application of the FAA would operate to invalidate or impair section 25-2602.01(f) of the NUAA; the trial court did not err by concluding that the McCarran-Ferguson Act applies and reverse preempts the FAA; section 25-2602.01(f) of the NUAA applies to the Reinsurance Participation Agreement (RPA) and renders the arbitration provision contained in the RPA unenforceable; and thus the trial court did not err by denying the petition to compel arbitration. View "Citizens of Humanity v. Applied Underwriters" on Justia Law

Baxter sued her former employer, Genworth, for wrongful termination and related causes of action, based on discrimination and retaliation, arising out of her employment. Genworth moved to compel arbitration as part of Genworth’s Resolve Employee Issue Resolution Program, which consists four stages, The trial court concluded, and the court of appeal affirmed, that the arbitration agreement Baxter signed in 2006, as a condition of continued employment, is unconscionable, refusing to sever any provisions. Agreement as a condition of continued employment amounted to “modest procedural unconscionability.” The court concluded that several features of the agreement were substantively unconscionable: default discovery limitations, a prohibition against contacting witnesses, procedural deadlines that effectively shorten the statute of limitations and preclude a meaningful opportunity for a pre-litigation Fair Employment and Housing Act investigation, and accelerated hearing procedures that infringe upon an employee’s ability to adequately present his or her case. The severance of the offending provisions was not an option because the arbitration agreement is permeated by unconscionability. View "Baxter v. Genworth North America Corp." on Justia Law

San Francisco Baseball Associates (the Giants) unsuccessfully moved to compel arbitration of the wage and hour claims of Melendez, a security guard employed at AT&T Park. Melendez argued that he and other security guards were employed “intermittingly” for specific assignments and were discharged “at the end of a homestand, at the end of a baseball season, at the end of an inter-season event like a fan fest, college football game, a concert, a series of shows, or other events,” and, under Labor Code section 201, were entitled to but did not receive immediate payment of their final wages upon each “discharge.” The Giants argued that immediate payment was not required because, under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the Giants and the union, Melendez and all such security guards are not intermittent employees but are “year-round employees who remain employed with the Giants until they resign or are terminated pursuant to the CBA.” The Giants argued that the action is preempted by section 301 of the federal Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. 185(a). The court of appeal affirmed, finding that the dispute is not within the scope of the CBA's arbitration provision but that arbitration is required by section 301. View "Melendez v. San Francisco Baseball Associates" on Justia Law

Sargon filed a malpractice suit against BGR and BGR petitioned to compel arbitration. The Court of Appeal held that the arbitrator erred in finding that the parties' arbitration agreement included a promise to forego litigation, and thus in concluding that Sargon breached the arbitration agreement by filing a malpractice action in superior court; the arbitrator's award violated Sargon's statutory right, as articulated in the California Arbitration Act, to seek a preliminary determination of arbitrability from a court; and thus, notwithstanding the limited judicial review generally afforded arbitration awards, the present arbitration award was subject to correction. However, the court did not vacate the arbitration award in its entirety because the court could strike the portion of the arbitration award adjudicating BGR's breach of contract claim without affecting the merits of the arbitrator's summary disposition of Sargon's malpractice claim. View "Sargon Enterprises v. Browne George Ross LLP" on Justia Law

A defendant in a putative class action can waive its right to compel arbitration against absent class members by deciding not to seek arbitration against the named plaintiff. In this wage and hour class action, the Court of Appeals held that Plan B waived its right to seek arbitration by filing and then withdrawing a motion to compel arbitration against the named plaintiff, Maria Elena Sprunk, and then waiting until after a class had been certified to seek arbitration against class members. The court held that Plan B provided sufficient evidence of the arbitration agreements; sufficient evidence supported the trial court's waiver finding; and substantial evidence supported the trial court's finding that Plan B delayed filing its motions to compel arbitration so that it could obtain a strategic advantage. The court explained that the the four-year delay resulted in Sprunk conducting class-related discovery and preparing and arguing an extensive class certification motion that never would have been necessary if individual arbitration had been ordered earlier in the case. Accordingly, the court affirmed the trial court's motion to compel arbitration. View "Sprunk v. Prisma LLC" on Justia Law

This case arose from competing claims to a portion of the Yuba Goldfields, a 10,000-acre valley on both sides of the Yuba River near Marysville. At issue was whether an arbitration award resolving a dispute between plaintiff Cal Sierra Development, Inc. (Cal Sierra), and Western Aggregates, Inc., served as res judicata to bar Cal Sierra’s lawsuit against Western Aggregates’ licensee George Reed, Inc., and the licensee’s parent Basic Resources, Inc. The Court of Appeal concluded yes. View "Cal Sierra Development v. George Reed, Inc." on Justia Law

Kho worked as a mechanic for One Toyota (OTO) from 2010-2014, when his employment was terminated. Kho filed a wage claim with the California Labor Commissioner. After settlement discussions failed, OTO filed a petition to compel arbitration. Under the arbitration agreement, which OTO required Kho to execute without explanation, the wage claim was subject to binding arbitration conducted by a retired superior court judge. Because the intended procedure incorporated many of the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure and the Evidence Code, the anticipated arbitration proceeding would resemble ordinary civil litigation. The trial court denied the petition to compel. Under the state supreme court’s 2013 “Sonic-Calabasas” decision, an arbitration agreement that waives the various advantageous provisions of the Labor Code governing the litigation of a wage claim is substantively unconscionable if it fails to provide the employee with an affordable and accessible alternative forum. The trial court concluded that the alternative anticipated by OTO’s arbitration agreement failed this standard because it effectively required Kho to retain counsel and did not expressly provide for him to recover his attorney fees if he prevailed. The court of appeal reversed, concluding the arbitration proceeding satisfies the Sonic requirements of affordability and accessibility. View "OTO, L.L.C. v. Kho" on Justia Law

FFC and Global appealed the arbitrator's award after Global filed suit against FFC to recover amounts owed on unpaid invoices. The Court of Appeal held that the trial court prejudicially erred when it failed to apply the correct standards in reviewing the arbitrator's award; substantial evidence did not support the award and an alleged contract to be performed over a three-year period violated the statute of frauds; the arbitrator exceeded his authority by deciding a claim that FFC had not agreed to arbitrate; the arbitrator exceeded his authority when he added the Affiliates as obligors under the award; and the court deemed the appeals from the orders denying attorney fees as petitions for writ of mandate and directed the trial court to vacate its orders and to deny the motions. View "Harshad & Nasir Corp. v. Global Sign Systems" on Justia Law

For purposes of the Iskanian rule, the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA) representative claims for civil penalties are limited to those where a portion of the recovery is allocated to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency. Claims for unpaid wages based on Labor Code section 558 are not allocated in this manner and, therefore, the Iskanian rule does not exempt such claims from arbitration. Applying the interpretation of the Iskanian rule and its term of art, civil penalties, to this litigation, the court concluded that some of the claims the employee was pursuing were PAGA representative claims that seek civil penalties. Under the Iskanian rule, those claims were not subject to arbitration. Therefore, the Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's order insofar as it denied arbitration of the representative claims for civil penalties and remanded for further proceedings. View "Esparza v. KS Industries, LP" on Justia Law