Legal Memos

Najarro v. Superior Court (2021) 70 Cal.App.5th 871. The trial court granted motions to compel arbitration of employment related causes of action which was then affirmed in part and reversed in part by the court of appeal. The arbitration agreement had a severability clause which allowed the court to decide issues such as unconscionability. The trial court erred in finding no substantive unconscionability because a waiver of the right to bring a representative action under PAGA was substantively unconscionable. As to other portions of the complaint, some employees made a sufficient showing of fraud in the execution so as to render the agreement unenforceable because they had no opportunity to read it before signing. Other employees contended that there was alleged fraud in the inducement, but that did not negate mutual assent and another version of the agreement with an effective delegation clause was enforceable.

Gordon v. Atria Management Company, LLC (2021) 70 Cal.App.5th 1020. This was a petition to compel arbitration of claims against a residential care facility by a resident. The trial court denied the petition but the court of appeal reversed finding that a family member who held a durable power of attorney was authorized to agree to arbitration on the resident’s behalf pursuant to the language in that durable power of attorney which expressly authorized contracts for the provision of residential care, authorizing submission of claims to arbitration and providing a broad grant of general powers.

Related Attorney(s):
Gregory L. McCoy