CALIFORNIA FAMILY LAW
...Procedure Before Trial/Hearing
......Arbitration
 27 Cards On This Topic:
  • Tolling of statute of limitations by arbitration agreement.
  • Where total value of c/p is $50,000 or less, court may order arbitration.
  • To be to be admissible under EC 1123 (b), arbitration clause in mediation settlement memo must be signed by the parties and include a direct statement to the effect that it is enforceable or binding.
  • Terminated employee entitled to withdraw from arbitration where employer was tardy in paying arbitration fees; arbitrator cannot cure a missed payment.
  • Order compelling nonparties to comply with SDTs vacated where they were improper discovery subpoenas, despite being labeled "hearing" subpoenas.
  • Nursing home failed to prove P's adult Cs had actual or ostensible authority to execute arbitration agreements on P's behalf; burden to prove signatory acted as agent not met by relying on statements of purported agent alone.
  • A disclosure that is not required of the arbitrator cannot be the basis for vacating an arbitration award.
  • Where decedent found indigent, Ds must agree to pay all arbitration fees and costs, or waive the right to arbitrate.
  • Employer proved employees' signatures on arb agrmt were authentic by custodian's declaration and fact the employees did not read, but signed, the "stack of documents."
  • D's failure to timely pay its share of arbitration fees resulted in a material breach of arbitration agreement and allowed P to proceed in court.
  • Where arb K permeated with unconscionability, court cannot simply sever the offending provisions; that would require rewriting to create a K to which parties never agreed.
  • Under CCP §1281.97(a)(1), D was in material breach of the arbitration agrmt even though its delay in payment was brief and no prejudice to P; statute not preempted by FAA.
  • Agent's authority to make "health care decisions" on principal's behalf under advance directive does not include executing optional arbitration agreements.
  • If the party that drafted the arbitration agreement fails to pay their share of the fees timely, the court may refuse to compel arbitration.
  • To DQ an arbitrator, a party must object at the earliest practicable opportunity after discovery of the facts constituting the ground for disqualification, even if during the proceeding.
  • Options if parties to mandatory arbitration agreements cannot pay their share of fee.
  • If a party does not speak or understand English sufficiently to comprehend a contract in English, it is incumbent upon the party to have it read or explained to him.
  • Judicial review of an arbitration award is extremely limited.
  • An arbitrator has the authority to find the facts, interpret the contract, and award any relief rationally related to his or her factual findings and contractual interpretation.
  • Parties cannot contract away CA's statutory arbitration protections, including mandatory disqualification of a proposed arbitrator upon a timely demand.
  • Arbitrators are not required to disclose facts about their backgrounds that are not relevant to the issues before them.
  • The failure to initial a clear term in a contract does not affect the enforceability of that provision.
  • Error not to vacate arbitration award where plaintiff showed that arbitrator failed to disclose he was the neutral in four cases involving defendant's counsel.
  • By seeking to confirm open-ended 1st award which mainly decided c/p or s/p nature of corporate note, D effectively consented to further arbitration on unresolved issues and trial court properly affirmed 2d award for Ps.
  • Parties to dissolution action may submit matter to binding nonjudicial arbitration; procedures.
  • Court can't enter judgment confirming arbitration award re marital property rights w/out good cause finding no final declarations necessary, parties complied with FC §2106, or written waiver/stip.
  • Arbitration of attorney fee disputes and malpractice claims.


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