In Juarez v. Wash Depot Holdings, Inc., California’s Second Appellate District Court of Appeal upheld the denial of an employer’s motion to compel arbitration when the arbitration agreement contained in the employee handbook was not the same in the English version as the Spanish version. Plaintiff Carlos Juarez filed a lawsuit alleging thirteen wage-and-hour claims, Read More…
Appellate Case Highlights Importance Of Pre-Litigation Offer Under CLRA
Benson v. Southern California Auto Sales, Inc., a recent California Court of Appeal decision, illustrates the importance of a business promptly responding to a Consumer Legal Remedies Act (“CLRA”) notice and making a timely correction offer. The plaintiff, Robert Benson (“Benson”), purchased a used car from defendant, Southern California Auto Sales, Inc. (“SCAS”). After purchasing Read More…
California Supreme Court Boosts Enforcement Of Arbitration Agreements
On August 3, 2015, the California Supreme Court provided greater clarity as to the enforceability of arbitration agreements like those often contained in contracts between businesses and their customers. In Sanchez v. Valencia Holding Co., LLC, the plaintiff, Gil Sanchez, purchased a car from a car dealership owned by Valencia Holding Co., LLC (“Valencia”). Soon Read More…
Coverage Issues Created By Electronic Data Breaches
According to Identify Theft Resource Center (ITRC), a non-profit national organization providing consumer and victim support and public education on identify theft, as of the end of July 2015, there have been a total of 450 breaches identified and more than 135,000,000 records exposed. As consumers, most of us at one time or another have Read More…
Decision Limits Discovery Of Employee Information In Wage And Hour Class Action
A plaintiff’s right to pursue discovery of employee contact information in wage-and-hour class actions has long been a problematic issue for employer defendants. In addition to the cost of compiling and producing voluminous contact information, production of such information potentially allows the plaintiff’s counsel to use the discovery process to “bootstrap” previously unsupportable claims from Read More…
The Duty to Preserve Evidence – A Refresher
Most businesses and their employees are either unaware or ill-equipped to deal with the pre-litigation duty to prevent intentional or negligent loss, alteration or destruction of relevant evidence, otherwise know as spoliation. Depending on the jurisdiction and whether the evidence was intentionally or negligently lost, spoliation may result in drastic sanctions, most commonly an adverse Read More…