Non-Signatories Not Bound By Arbitration Agreement.

After a corporation went into bankruptcy, its short-term creditors brought suit against the corporation’s financial advisor alleging fraudulent misrepresentations. The financial advisor filed a petition to compel arbitration.  The trial court denied the petition to compel and the appellate court affirmed because “the short-term creditors were not third-party beneficiaries of the contract between the financial advisor and the corporation.”  Epitech, Inc. v. Kann  (Cal. App. Second Dist., Div. 3;  April 16, 2012) 204 Cal.App.4th 1365, [139 Cal.Rptr.3d 702].