DISCOVERY RESTRICTION IN ARBITRATION CLAUSE HELD NOT UNCONSCIONABLE
An arbitration provision in an employment contract provided that each party to the arbitration could take one fact deposition, depose experts, request documents, and take additional depositions if authorized by the arbitrator for good cause. A California trial court held the limit on depositions to be unconscionable, refused to sever the discovery limit provision and denied a motion to compel arbitration. The California Court of Appeals reversed, finding that such limits on discovery were permissible in arbitration, in that it provided the arbitrator with discretion to permit further depositions without setting an extraordinarily high standard for obtaining further depositions. The Court also held that a contractual provision that the arbitrator, rather than a court, should interpret and implement the arbitration provision was permissible, especially in light of court decisions at both the state and federal levels holding that arbitrators have the authority to resolve disputes over the meaning of specific terms of an arbitration agreement. Dotson v. Amgen, Inc., Civil No. B212965 (Cal Ct. App. Feb. 3, 2010).
This post written by Rollie Goss.
