Cases: Arbitration

CLRA Claims Require Bad Faith Prosecution To Award Prevailing Party Fees To Defendants, With The Clause Not Covering This Eventuality.             Gostev v. Skillz Platform, Inc., Case No. A164407 (1st Dist., Div. 2 Feb. 28, 2023) (published) is a must read for litigants and their attorneys on the enforceability of delegation and other arbitration damage/statute […]

This Is The Third In A Recent Trio Of Cases To So Hold.             In our November 25, 2022 post, we discussed DeLeon and Espinoza, two appellate cases holding that a business failing to timely pay its share of arbitration fees under a consumer contract eschews its right to arbitrate and can be forced to

Issue Was Failure To Pay Fees/Costs For An Arbitration Continuance, But Arbitration Initiation Case Reasoning Was Analogous.              DeLeon v. Juanita’s Foods, Case No. B315394 (2d Dist., Div. 3 Nov. 23, 2022) (published) is the next progression from Espinoza v. Superior Court, 83 Cal.App.5th 761, 775-776 (2022), which held that an employer’s failure to timely

This Was No Ground To Correct The Award.             In Hollander v. Tennenbaum Capital Partners, LLC, Case No. B314018 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Nov. 21, 2022) (unpublished), the appellate court rejected an arbitration claimant’s argument that Labor Code fees were unwaivable when the claimant did not articulate that ground as a basis for the fee

Revised Award Was Not A Mere Correction, But A Substantive Merits Reconsideration And Impermissible New Award.             Taska v. TheRealReal, Inc., Case No. A164130 (1st Dist., Div. 5 Nov. 4, 2022) (published) was a situation where an arbitrator found in employer’s favor on the merits and denied employer’s fee request after finding employee’s case was

Order Compelling Arbitration Was Vacated And $2,310 In Monetary Sanctions Against Company Affirmed On Appeal.             The California Legislature recently enacted Code of Civil Procedure sections 1281.97, 1281.98, and 1281.99 which obligate a company which drafts an arbitration agreement relating to an employee or a consumer to pay its share of arbitration fees no later

Subsequent Post-Trial Proceeding Costs Not Subsumed In Contractual Clause.             In Crowder v. Freeman, Freeman & Smiley LLP, Case No. B309001 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Mar. 22, 2022) (unpublished), an appellate court reversed a superior court fee denial relating to arbitration proceedings, where only the arbitrator was allowed to award fees and costs.  The appellate