Disagreeing with Grand Prospect Partners, L.P. v. Ross Dress for Less, Inc. (2015) 232 Cal.App.4th 1332, this decision holds that a co-tenancy clause in a shopping center lease, which allowed the tenant to drastically reduce its rent if less than 60% of the shopping center's space was leased to other tenants, was enforceable. Failure of the shopping center to meet… Read More
The San Diego city attorney sued the owner of Instacart for misclassifying its gig workers as independent contractors seeking an injunction and civil penalties under B&P Code 17200. This decision holds that defendant cannot compel arbitration of the city attorney's claim. Like the EEOC in EEOC v. Waffle House Inc. (2002) 122 S.Ct. 754, the city attorney here was not… Read More
An airline employee whose duties involved loading and unloading baggage and cargo onto and from airplanes that flew interstate routes was an employee engaged in interstate commerce and thus the FAA did not apply to the arbitration clause in his employment agreement. 9 USC 1 exempts a class of workers--not a class of their employers; so the fact that Southwest… Read More
The second sentence of the FTC Holder Rule does not limit recovery of attorney fees under state statutes that render the holder liable for those fees, even on claims that can only be brought against the holder as a result of the FTC Holder Rule. Read More
Despite CCP 1710.40'sopen-ended list of potential defenses to a sister state judgment, under the Full Faith and Credit Clause, the statute does not and cannot create an opportunity to raise defenses to the merits of the underlying claims resolved in the sister state judgment. Thus, defenses based on a contract's arbitration, forum selection and choice of law clause could not… Read More
Despite a broadly worded delegation clause, a court must always decide whether the parties entered into an arbitration agreement. And, when the defendant appeals from a trial court's decision that it did not satisfy its burden of proving the existence of an arbitration agreement, the appellate court only asks whether the appellant’s evidence was (1) “uncontradicted and unimpeached” and (2)… Read More
A Delaware corporation's bylaw requiring any shareholder derivative suit be brought in Delaware Chancery Court is enforceable. Such a forum selection clause does not offend any federal statute or public policy. Read More
Under St. Agnes Medical Center v. Pacificare of California (2003) 31 Cal.4th 1187, a court cannot hold that the defendant waived the contractual right to arbitrate solely by delayed assertion of that right, absence a showing of prejudice by the opposing party. Here, defendant waited 13 months after plaintiff filed suit to move to compel arbitration and took plaintiff's deposition… Read More
Duress by a third person who is not a party to the contract is not a ground on which a party may avoid a contract, at least so long as the other contracting party is not aware of the duress and relies on the contract in good faith. Thus, here, plaintiff could not avoid her settlement agreement with defendant on… Read More
Defendant, a Delaware corporation with headquarters in California, had a federal forum provision in its articles of incorporation which provided that any claims against it under the federal Securities Act of 1933 had to be brought in federal, not state, court. This decision affirms an order dismissing without prejudice a Securities Act suit that one of the corporation's shareholders brought… Read More
As a Juul employee, Grove obtained stock options which he exercised to buy shares of Juul stock. Grove sued Juul in California asserting a claim for the right to inspect Juul's books and records and also class and derivative claims against Juul's officers and directors. The California court first stayed the inspection claim based on the forum selection clause in… Read More
Dameron required emergency room patients to sign a "conditions of admission" agreement, which assigned to the hospital the patients' rights under their auto insurance policies' uninsured or underinsurance motorist coverages and under the medical payments coverage. This decision holds that assignment of un-or underinsured motorist coverage is contrary to public policy and unenforceable because it is merely a way to… Read More
Under Public Contracts Code 20104.50, a government entity that pays a contractor more than 30 days after receipt of an undisputed payment request must pay the contractor 10% interest on the delayed payment. However, this decision holds that payment more than 30 days after receipt is not a breach of the construction contract if that contract only incorporates the Public… Read More
Defendant residential care facility's arbitration clause was procedurally unconscionable as (i) it was a contract of adhesion, (ii) it incorporated the AAA rules but no copy of them was provided, and (iii) the facility required a patient undergoing an acute psychotic incident, who could not concentrate for more than 10-20 seconds to sign the clause. The clause was substantively unconscionable… Read More
Following Ajamian v. CantorCO2e, LP (2012) 203 Cal.App.4th 771, this decision holds that an arbitration clause calling for the arbitration of "any dispute" arising in connection with a contract does not "clearly and unmistakably" call for the arbitrator rather than a court to decide issues of arbitrability. A provision calling for arbitration in accordance with AAA rules which themselves grant… Read More
Employer's arbitration clause was unenforceable because it was unconscionable. The clause was a mandatory, non-negotiable requirement of employment. It was procedurally unconscionable because it was given to plaintiff only in English, which he cannot read, and without a schedule of the arbitration fees he could be charged. It was substantively unconscionable because it allowed the arbitrator to shift attorney fees… Read More
Defendant's website didn't adequately disclose the nature of the terms of service, and didn't point out either the arbitration clause or the hyperlink to the agreement. As a form of sign-in wrap, the website failed adequately to show agreement to the defendant's terms when the customer simply hit the "continue" button. Read More
The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 (49 USC 41713) preempted plaintiff's tort claims arising from defendant's decision not to use plaintiff's software that offered certain in flight deals to airline passengers. Refusing to follow the Ninth Circuit's minority view (Charas v. Trans World Airlines, Inc. (9th Cir. 1998) 160 F.3d 1259), this decision holds that in flight deals are part… Read More
The trial court did not abuse its discretion in ordering a new trial in this case where the writers for the series Columbo sued the studio that produced those shows. The trial court correctly concluded--only after the jury ruled--that it was for the court to interpret the contract between the parties and that the crucial term "photoplay" included each TV… Read More
A written waiver or release of future negligence claims or assumption of the risk in order to participate in recreational activities is enforceable. Here, a high school required its football team players to sign such a release. It barred plaintiff's claim for negligence in failing to diagnose the concussion he suffered playing football which led to serious brain damage. Plaintiff… Read More
