JAMS May Have Sown Confusion By Extending Payment Deadline, So Excuses Needed Consideration Upon Transfer Of The Opinion From The Cal Supreme Court
As we have seen in many previous posts, employer missed arbitration payment deadline cases are getting reversed and remanded in the wake of Hohenshelt, 18 Cal.5th at 331, which indicated that defaults could be excused for nonperformance if it was not willful, fraudulent, or grossly negligent. That led to a reversal and remand in Costa-Fleeson v. Americor Funding, Inc., Case No. G062961 (4th Dist., Div. 3 June 29, 2026) (unpublished), an opinion issued after transfer by the California Supreme Court after Hohenshelt, so that the articulated excuses could be considered. Among other things, JAMS sowed some confusion by extending the payment deadline (which is not binding because the parties must agree to such an extension), but this and other factors can be considered on remand.