Litigation & Arbitration
Jun. 22, 2022
Can arbitration be forced on indigent parties?
Like it or not, corporations and other financially able parties may, in some cases, have to decide whether the desire to arbitrate is so great that they are willing to pay the other side’s costs.
Gary A. Watt
Partner
Hanson Bridgett LLP
State Bar Approved, Certified Appellate Specialist
Email: gwatt@hansonbridgett.com
Gary chairs Hanson Bridgett's Appellate Practice. He is a State Bar-approved, certified appellate specialist. In addition to writs and appeals, his practice includes anti-SLAPP and post-trial motions as well as trial and appellate consulting. His blog posts can be read at www.appellateinsight.com.
Erica Kelley
Hanson Bridgett's Appellate Group
Kelley is the 2022 LCLD Diversity Scholar summer associate at Hanson Bridgett. She is a rising 2L at UCLA School of Law, where she competes for the school's prestigious mock trial team. Erica is interested in practicing general litigation and pro bono work involving children's rights. She can be reached at ekelley@hansonbridgett.com.
The parties have an arbitration agreement. It requires sharing the arbitration costs. Can a party shift those costs, or even avoid arbitration, if it cannot afford to arbitrate? There is no clear answer in the California Arbitration Act (Code Civ. Proc. § 1280 et seq.) (the “CAA”). A recent appellate decision, however, joins others holding that for policy reasons, the truly indigent should not be forced to bear the costs of arbitration. Aronow v. Superior Court, 76 C...
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