Arbitration

Arbitration provision requiring waiver of unwaivable statutory right under California Legal Remedies Act is unenforceable as against public policy.  Amberlee Fisher v. DCH Temecula Imports LLC, (No. E047802 California Courts of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, August 13, 2010).

The trial court found that an arbitration clause in a retail installment sales contract for the sale of a car to the plaintiff, which included a waiver of right to bring a class-action lawsuit, was unenforceable.  The plaintiff presented several theories in opposition to the enforcement to the arbitration clause, including that the arbitration required her to waive a statutory right to bring a class-action lawsuit under the California Legal Remedies Act (CLRA), and that the arbitration agreement was then both procedurally and substantively unconscionable.  The appeals court upheld the trial court=s denial of the petition to compel arbitration.

Advertisement