Last year, David L. Martin appealed an order from the Los Angeles Superior Court denying a petition to compel arbitration. The lower court found that the lack of initials next to a jury waiver provision precluded enforcement.
On July 8, 2020, the Second District of the California Court of Appeal reversed, finding that the trial court erred in denying the petition to compel arbitration. The appellate court held that even though neither party initialed the jury waiver provision, both the employer and the employee assented to all the terms by signing the arbitration agreement. It further held that an employee’s “undisclosed assertions that he did not want to arbitrate or waive his jury trial right when he signed the agreement” is not to be considered as evidence of the lack of mutual assent.
The decision by the Court of Appeal has been certified for publication. This creates favorable case law for employers that will assist them when seeking to enforce arbitration agreements. A copy of the decision can be found here.
