New CA Arbitration Case

To do the best job possible as a mediator, arbitrator and referee, I review and summarize every new published California civil case. In this blog I discuss a new civil case that was published last month. 

Arbitration

In California cases with arbitration agreements, a common issue is whether California law will be preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). Last month, the Second District Court of Appeal published a new case addressing whether the FAA applied to an arbitration agreement regarding employees who provided paratransit services required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.). A video discussing the case is above and my summary of the case is below.

New Arbitration Decision  

Evenskaas v. California Transit, Inc. (2022) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2022 WL 2763374: The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court's order denying defendant's motion to compel arbitration of plaintiff's wage and hour class action. The trial court denied the motion on the grounds that California law, rather than the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA; 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.), applied to the arbitration agreement because the agreement did not involve interstate commerce, and under the California Supreme Court's decision in Gentry v. Superior Court (2007) 42 Cal.4th 443 (Gentry) plaintiff's waiver of his right to bring class action claims was unenforceable. The Court of Appeal disagreed. Because defendant California Transit was hired to provide paratransit services (required to be provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.), and plaintiff was hired to provide those services, the arbitration agreement involved interstate commerce for purposes of the FAA, the FAA applied to the arbitration agreement, and the FAA preempted the Gentry rule that certain class action waivers in employment arbitration agreements are unenforceable. (C.A. 2nd, July 15, 2022.) 

Mediation, Arbitration and Referee Services

I help attorneys and their clients throughout California serving as a mediator, arbitrator and referee at ADR Services, Inc., handling business, commercial, employment, insurance bad faith, insurance coverage, landlord-tenant (commercial and residential), legal malpractice, medical malpractice, personal injury, real property and wrongful death cases. I'm an expert in new California civil case law and in using Zoom. I've been a California civil trial lawyer since 1980 and a member of ABOTA since 1995. I've represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of civil cases including the areas listed above. To schedule a new matter, please contact my case manager at ADR services, Ins.,  Haward Cho, [email protected], (213) 683-1600.  

California Case Summaries™

Best regards,
Monty A. McIntyre, Esq.
Mediator, Arbitrator & Referee
California Case Summaries™
Lawyer Master Mentoring™
CA Civil Trial Attorney Since 1980
ABOTA Member Since 1995
Past President San Diego County Bar Assn., SD ABOTA Chapter
Phone: (619) 990-4312. Email: [email protected]