Daily eBriefs - January 30, 2024

Contracts An arbitration provision in a subscriber agreement that required the parties to arbitrate all disputes and permitted the arbitrator to grant only individual relief served to waive a consumer’s right to seek public injunctive relief in any forum; an injunction that seeks to prohibit a business from engaging in unfair or deceptive practices and marketing, requires it to provide enhanced pricing transparency, and requires it to comply with our consumer protection laws, has the primary purpose and effect of protecting the public. Ramsey v. Comcast Cable Communications - filed Dec. 29, 2023, publication ordered Jan. 29, 2024, Sixth District Cite as 2024 S.O.S. 426 Full text click here >http://sos.metnews.com/sos.cgi?0124//H049949

Daily eBriefs - January 24, 2024

Contracts If an employer successfully moved to stay a court action and proceed to arbitration, then waited more than 30 days to pay its share of the arbitrator’s initial filing fee, the employer waives its right to arbitration pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure §1281.97 et seq. Suarez v. Superior Court (Rudolph & Sletten) - filed Jan. 24, 2024, Fourth District, Div. One Cite as 2024 S.O.S. 326 Full text click here >http://sos.metnews.com/sos.cgi?0124//D082429.

Daily eBriefs - January 19, 2024

Employment A public retirement system’s resolution properly excluded compensation for accrued, but unused, hours of annual leave exceeding employees’ calendar year allowance for purposes of calculating their retirement benefits. Ventura County Employees’ Retirement Association v. Criminal Justice Attorneys Association of Ventura County - filed Jan. 4, 2024, publication ordered Jan. 18, 2024, Second District, Div. Six Cite as 2024 S.O.S. 261 Full text click here >http://sos.metnews.com/sos.cgi?0124//B325277.

Daily eBriefs - January 10, 2024

Employment A healthcare provider, who was neither an ERISA plan participant nor beneficiary, has derivative authority to enforce ERISA’s protections if it has received a valid assignment of rights. South Coast Specialty Surgery Center v. Blue Cross of California - filed Jan. 10, 2024 Cite as 2024 S.O.S. 22-55717 Full text click here >http://sos.metnews.com/sos.cgi?0124//22-55717

Daily eBriefs - January 9, 2024

Employment An arbitration provision which reflects the parties’ agreement to waive their rights to bring any claims against one other in any purported class or representative proceeding, and which provides no right or authority for any dispute to be brought, heard, or arbitrated on a class, collective, or representative basis is unenforceable because it requires plaintiffs to waive their right to bring any representative Private Attorneys General Act claim. DeMarinis v. Heritage Bank of Commerce - filed Dec. 11, 2023, publication ordered Jan. 8, 2024, First District, Div. Three Cite as 2024 S.O.S. 144 Full text click here >http://sos.metnews.com/sos.cgi?0124//A167091

Daily eBriefs - January 8, 2024

Employment A trial court erred in denying certification of a class of employees challenging an employer’s rest break policy where the court incorrectly found the employer applied its rest break policy inconsistently during the proposed class period; certification was properly denied over the employer’s policy of checking employees’ bags were there was evidence the policy was only sporadically enforced. Miles v. Kirkland Stores - filed January 8, 2024 Cite as 2024 S.O.S. 22-55522 Full text click here >http://sos.metnews.com/sos.cgi?0124//22-55522