New CA Arbitration and PAGA Case

arbitration paga Oct 11, 2022
 
 
I offer Master Lawyer Mentoring™ to help less experienced civil lawyers throughout the U.S. quickly learn essential law practice skills, think strategically in preparing and presenting their cases, avoid mistakes, and implement excellent systems to win more, make more money and create their dream law practices.  
 
Law school doesn't teach you how to practice law in the real world. Newer lawyers need someone with real life experience to mentor them. But unlike when I started practicing in 1980, today very few new lawyers get mentoring to help them learn how to practice law right.  
 
I can help. I've been a California civil trial lawyer since 1980, a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates since 1995, and I've been listed in The Best Lawyers in America every year since 2012. I've represented both plaintiffs and defendants in business, insurance bad faith and coverage, personal injury, real property and wrongful death cases, I've recovered over $50 million for plaintiff clients, and obtained numerous defense verdicts and good settlements for defense clients. I've tried over 100 jury, court and administrative trials and arbitrations. For many years, I've provided mentoring to many less experienced lawyers in California.
 
Working with me, you can quickly develop the skills, strategies, and systems necessary to build you dream law practice. How will it feel to be a successful and highly respected lawyer in your practice areas? Today is the day to start creating your future. 
 
Click the link to learn more about Master Lawyer Mentoring™, or email me at [email protected] or call me at (619) 990-4312.



Great lawyers and judges keep current with the new published civil case law in their practice areas. It's easy if you find an excellent case summary subscription service. You'll save time and easily keep up with the new cases in your practice areas to win more and make more money. I offer just such a case summary service with California Case Summaries™, where I provide short summaries (one-paragraph), organized by legal topic, of every new published civil case in California in monthly, quarterly and annual publications.   
 
To get my free summaries of the 22 new civil cases published by the California Supreme Court in 2021, click here.

Below is a discussion of a new CA civil case published last month.

Arbitration & PAGA

Under California law, a PAGA claim cannot typically be sent to arbitration. But, like so many other rules in the law, this rule is not absolute. Last month, the Second District Court of Appeal published a decision addressing this issue. To find out what they decided, watch the video above and read my summary of the case below.

New Arbitration and PAGA Decision  

Oswald v. Murray Plumbing & Heating Corp. (2022) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2022 WL 4008088: The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court's order denying defendant's motion to compel arbitration in plaintiff's lawsuit alleging violations of the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA; Labor Code, section 2698 et seq.). While the right to file a PAGA action generally cannot be waived by contract, the Labor Code exempts construction workers from PAGA if a collective bargaining agreement (CBA)covers wages, hours and working conditions and (1) has a grievance and arbitration procedure to redress Labor Code violations; (2) clearly waives PAGA; and (3) authorizes the arbitrator to award all remedies available under the Labor Code. (Labor Code, section 2699.6(a).) The employment relationship between plaintiff and defendant was governed by a Master Agreement (Agreement) between plaintiff's union and defendant's contractor association, effective from 2017 to 2026. The Agreement was a CBA requiring arbitration of disputes—including ones arising under PAGA—as the sole and exclusive remedy. The Court of Appeal held, as a matter of law, that the CBA clearly waived PAGA and satisfied the requirements of Labor Code section 2699.6(a). The trial court was ordered to enter an order directing the parties to arbitrate their dispute. (C.A. 2nd, September 2, 2022.) 

 

Civil Litigation Services

I still take a few select civil cases where I represent plaintiffs or defendants in business, insurance bad faith, personal injury, real property and wrongful death actions. Using my experience as a California civil trial lawyer since 1980, and a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates since 1995, my goal is to get each client the best possible result. My clients get the benefit of big firm experience with small firm attention and reasonable rates. To discuss a potential case, email me at [email protected], or call me at (619) 990-4312.


Mediation, Arbitration and Referee Services

I also help attorneys and their clients by serving as a mediator, arbitrator and referee at ADR Services, Inc., handling cases in the areas of business, commercial, employment, insurance bad faith, insurance coverage, landlord-tenant (commercial and residential), legal malpractice, medical malpractice, personal injury, real property and wrongful death. To schedule an ADR matter with me, contact my case manager at ADR services, Haward Cho,  [email protected], (213) 683-1600.  



Until my next blog post, stay safe and healthy.


Best regards,
Monty A. McIntyre, Esq.
Master Lawyer Mentoring™
Civil Trial Attorney  
Mediator, Arbitrator & Referee
California Case Summaries™
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] 

To Discuss a Potential Case With Monty:
Email Monty at [email protected]
or call Monty at (619) 990-4312. 

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