Cases: Arbitration

Arbitration/Retainer Agreements: July 2016 Issue Of “Orange County Lawyer” Has Interview With Orange County Bar Association’s Mandatory Fee Arbitration Committee Co-Chairs

Cases: Arbitration, Cases: Retainer Agreements

  Eric S. Blum And David J. Hesseltine Provide Some Tips On What Fee Arbitrators Focus On In Mandatory Fee Arbitrations.       Under the Mandatory Fee Arbitration Act (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 6200 et seq.), attorneys and clients must first arbitrate a fee dispute through a local county bar’s fee arbitration process unless that […]

Allocation/Arbitration: Party Prevailing On Arbitration Counterclaim Correctly Denied Fees Upon Review Of Arbitrator “Zilch” Award To Counterclaimant

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Arbitration

  Merits Cannot Be Reviewed, But Prevailing Counterclaimant Did Not Allocate—A Mistake!      We will say that Editions Limited West, Inc. v. Somerset Studios, Inc., Case No. A145320 (1st Dist., Div. 3 July 7, 2016) (unpublished) is another decision where an appellate court would not revisit the merits of an arbitrator’s refusal to grant fees

Arbitration, Costs: Ninth Circuit Addresses What Happens To Litigation Stay When Party Cannot Afford To Pay Ongoing Costs Of Compelled Arbitration

Cases: Arbitration, Cases: Costs

Does A Court Stay On Litigation Get Lifted When A Party Is Unable To Pay Ongoing Costs Of An Arbitration?      On June 15, 2016, Co-contributor Marc posted in the California Mediation and Arbitration blog about  Tillman v. Rheingold Firm, No. 13-56624 (9th Cir. 6/15/16), a Ninth Circuit Case addressing what happens to a district

Arbitration: Baxter v. Bock Decision Now Partially Published

Cases: Arbitration

  Dealt With MFAA Arbitrator Disclosure Issues, Mainly.     On May 20, 2016, we posted on the unpublished decision of Baxter v. Bock, a mandatory fee arbitration case which decided that an arbitrator auditing fee bills did not have to disclose this work in the arbitration given that he represented both plaintiffs and defendants in

Mandatory Fee Arbitration In California: Two New Advisory Opinions

Cases: Arbitration

       On March 25, 2016, the Committee on Mandatory Fee Arbitration released two new Advisories that impact attorney’s fees issues:  (1)  “Statute of Limitations For Fee Arbitrations”; (2) “Analysis Of Potential Bill Padding And Other Billing Issues”.  For more information, link to co-contributor Marc’s post today about the two Advisories on California Mediation and

Arbitration: Arbitration Panelist Having Lawyers Versus Lawyers Practice Did Not Have To Disclose Fact In Mandatory Fee Arbitration Proceeding

Cases: Arbitration

  Justice Rubin, In A Long Dissent, Concludes Otherwise.      Safarian Choi & Bolstad, LLP v. Minassian, Case No. B262526 (2d Dist., Div. 8 Apr. 7, 2016) (unpublished) involved an ex-client who lost a mandatory fee arbitration to his ex-attorneys. Among other challenges to the arbitration award, ex-client raised the argument that the arbitration panel

Arbitration: Trial Judge Properly Jettisoned Arbitrator Fee Award Because No Fee Clause In Operative Arbitration Agreement

Cases: Arbitration

  Arbitrator Finality Was “Trumped” By Clause Not Permitting Legal/Factual Errors.      In Cardiology Specialists Medical Group, Inc. v. Rangappa, Case No. D069092 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Mar. 30, 2016) (unpublished), doctor and his former employer arbitrated a dispute about who paid for return of a monetary advance, sign-on bonus, and start-up expenses in an

Arbitration/Employment: Arbitration Award Of Fees Against Employee Losing Overtime Claim Properly Vacated Under Public Policy Exception To Arbitral Finality

Cases: Arbitration, Cases: Employment

  Plaintiff Winning Meal Periods Claim Not Entitled To Fees, But Entitled To Routine Costs.     In the last few months, there have been several cases interpreting the public policy exception to arbitral finality.  Ling v. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc., Case No. H039367 (6th Dist. Mar. 25, 2016) (published) is another one on this

Scroll to Top