California high court reverses appeals court ruling in Commerce case
The Supreme Court determined that the company waived its right to arbitration.
The California Supreme Court has reversed a previous ruling by a state appeals panel in a case involving California Commerce Club Inc. and a former casino employee.
The former casino worker, Peter Quach, sued California Commerce for “wrongful termination.”
According to court documents, Quach worked for California Commerce for 30 years prior to his termination.
The court documents stated, “Quach’s complaint alleges claims for wrongful termination, age discrimination, retaliation, and harassment and demands a jury trial.
“Before Quach filed his complaint, Commerce Club provided him with a copy of the signature page of a form arbitration agreement he had signed in 2015, while he was working at the casino. The agreement provided for binding arbitration of employment-related disputes.”
The appeals panel had ruled that California Commerce Club Inc. did not waive its right to compel arbitration.
However, the state Supreme Court found that this decision “is invalid under a 2022 US Supreme Court decision.” The state high court overturned the previous ruling by unanimous vote.
The US Supreme Court ruling in 2022 in the case of Morgan v. Sundance Inc. determined that parties seeking to avoid arbitration are not required to show prejudice. This led the California court to site this case as the reason for requiring a reversal.
The state Supreme Court said in the ruling, “Because we conclude the trial court’s ruling that Commerce Club waived its right to compel arbitration was correct under the generally applicable law of waiver, we need not consider whether any other generally applicable state contract law defense applies.
“To establish waiver under generally applicable contract law, the party opposing enforcement of a contractual agreement must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the waiving party knew of the contractual right and intentionally relinquished or abandoned it.”
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