Trial Court’s Denial Of Petition To Compel Arbitration Reversed.

The trial judge denied defendant employer’s petition to compel arbitration in a wrongful  termination case after finding the arbitration agreement was unconscionable. The arbitration agreement was presented to the plaintiff employee on a take-it-or-leave-it basis and his signature was a precondition to employment. But plaintiff contended he was already on the job working for over a week before the arbitration agreement was ever presented to him. The appellate court analyzed numerous provisions in the contract and concluded: “None of these provisions is unconscionable,” and reversed. (Sanchez v. Carmax Auto Superstores California, LLC (Cal. App. Second Dist., Div. 1; March 4, 2014)224 Cal.App.4th 398, [168 Cal.Rptr.3d 473].)