Contracts

This decision affirms dismissal of a complaint attacking three provisions of PayPal's standard contract.  First, the complaint alleged no breach of contract or the implied covenant by PayPal's placing 21-day holds on payments to plaintiff-sellers' accounts.  The agreement gave PayPal sole discretion in imposing holds.  And PayPal didn't breach the implied covenant of good faith because the complaint disclosed reasonable… Read More

The trial court erred in instructing the jury that a manufacturer remained liable on its limited new car warranty well after the mileage or temporal limits had expired so long as the defect had been reported during the warranty's duration and had not been "fixed."  Instead, CACI 3231 correctly summarizes Civ. Code 1795.6, which extends the warranty period only if… Read More

An arbitration clause that stated both parties waived the right to bring a class action, act as a private attorney general or join claims of other persons in arbitration or in court did not offend McGill.  At least given the 9th Circuit's view that the FAA preempts Broughton and Cruz, the arbitrator could award public injunctive relief since McGill makes… Read More

A release that ratepayers were required to sign in order to obtain a partial rebate of illegal water charges was enforceable.  The city did not fraudulently conceal facts from ratepayers.  Its FAQs said the partial refund was due to the statute of limitations barring claims for any greater refund and revealed that the overcharges had been assessed for a longer… Read More

The Motor Vehicle Franchise Contract Arbitration Fairness Act (15 USC 1226) creates a narrow exception to the Federal Arbitration Act, banning arbitration (without both parties' post-dispute consent) of claims arising from a motor vehicle franchise contract, which it defines to mean a contract under which the franchisee both sells and services motor vehicles.  Vehicle Code 11713.,3(g) contains the same terms… Read More

This decision affirms a judgment against the plaintiff holder of the first deed of trust on a Nevada dwelling that was foreclosed upon by the homeowners association for nonpayment of association dues.  The decision holds that the CC&R clause that expressly subordinated the association's lien for unpaid dues to the first deed of trust did not render the foreclosure sale… Read More

Following Mejia v. DACM, Inc. (2020) 54 Cal.App.5th 691, this decision affirms an order denying a motion to compel arbitration.  As in Mejia, this decision distinguishes Clifford v. Quest Software Inc. (2019) 38 Cal.App.5th 745, saying it involved only the defendant's employees, not the broader public which this suit sought to benefit by an injunction against defendant's allegedly unfair practices… Read More

Reversing an order denying arbitration, this decision holds that the arbitration clause had only a minimal degree of procedural unconscionability due to the employer's greater economic power and only one clause that was substantively unconscionable but severable.  The employer was not required to give plaintiff a Spanish translation since plaintiff did not show she lacked English language skills, just that… Read More

Employer sent plaintiff a letter offering employment.  The letter contained an integration clause, but also stated that plaintiff would need to sign the employer's separate arbitration agreement.  This decision holds that the integration clause did not bar introduction of evidence of the arbitration agreement since it was not inconsistent with the offer letter's terms.  Also, the the offer letter sufficiently… Read More

The trial court properly denied defendant's motion to compel arbitration.  By not raising the point in the trial court, defendant waived its argument that arbitrability questions were delegated to the arbitrator.  The trial court properly found that the arbitration provision was unconscionable.  It was an adhesion contract, presented to the plaintiffs on a electronic tablet device which the salesman scrolled… Read More

On claims to which Civ. Code 1717 applies (claims on a contract), the statute's definition of "prevailing party" supersedes any definition of that term in the parties' contract.  In applying the Hsu v. Abbara (1995) 9 Cal.4th 863 test of prevailing party, the trial court may  not consider settlement offers the parties have made either informally or under CCP 998… Read More

Plaintiff sued a corporation, took its default on a breach of contract claim.  Plaintiff also sued the corporation's owner and a related corporation.  After voluntarily dismissing the contract cause of action against those defendants, plaintiff continued to pursue tort claims against them for fraudulent conveyance and conspiracy, attempting to hold them liable on the default judgment against the corporation.  The… Read More

To admit her disabled, ill brother, for whom she acted as conservator, to a skilled nursing facility, plaintiff signed an admission agreement as well as two arbitration agreements, one for medical malpractice disputes, the other for all other disputes.  Plaintiff sued after the facility's poor care led to her brother's death.  The trial court denied the facility's motion to compel… Read More

This decision holds that the trial court correctly denied enforcement of an arbitration clause in a contraxt for other than medical services because the arbitration clause was one of the standard terms of the contract, on the reverse side, while the customer signed the agreement only on the front side.  The arbitration clause was in the same 8-pt. types as… Read More

Plaintiff, the tenant in a commercial building, was injured when his head struck a low beam at the entrance to an upstairs door and as a result he fell down the stairs.  This decision affirms a summary judgment for the landlord based on an exculpatory clause in the lease which absolved the landlord of liability for personal injuries suffered as… Read More

After plaintiff sustained a loss that its insurer contended was excluded from coverage, plaintiff and insurer entered into a loan receipt agreement under which the insurer lent plaintiff the funds needed to repair the damage to its property.  The plaintiff was not personally liable to repay the loan but agreed to repay out of any proceeds it received from suing… Read More

Plaintiff, a Coptic church, bought a residence to serve as the Coptic pope's western US residence and a residence for visiting bishops.  Its insurance broker arranged for it to obtain a commercial property insurance policy which had an exclusion for loss due to water damage if the property had been vacant for 60 days or more before the loss.  This… Read More

This decision reverses a judgment confirming an arbitration award.  The arbitrator exceeded his powers by issuing an award that enforced an employment contract's provision that violated the employee's unwaivable statutory rights.  The employment agreement's confidentiality clause was so broadly written that it prohibited the employee from using any information not generally known to the securities industry for the benefit of… Read More

Plaintiffs alleged that defendant had agreed to cremate plaintiff's two dogs individually, but sent them random ashes rather than those of their dogs.  Plaintiffs sought to recover for the emotional distress they suffered as a result.  Held:  Plaintiffs didn't state a breach of contract claim as their vet, not they, had contracted with defendant, but on remand plaintiffs should be… Read More

In a poorly lawyered case, this decision affirms an order denying a motion to compel arbitration, holding that the trial court properly held the arbitration clause was unconscionable.  It was procedurally unconscionable because it was a form contract presented to the patient only moments before the laser hair removal operation in a large stack of other paper she didn't have… Read More