Last week, the Supreme Court issued a "grant and hold" order in another arbitration case, Franco v. Arakelian Enters., No. S207760. The case has been held pending resolution of Iskanian. My original post on the Court of Appeal opinion in Franco is here.
This means that three lead cases, plus five "grant and hold" cases, are now pending before the Supreme Court on post-Concepcion issues.
These are the three lead cases:
- Iskanian v. CLS Transportation, No. S204032 (review granted 09/19/12)
- Sanchez v. Valencia Holding Co., No. S199119 (review granted 03/21/12)
- Sonic-Calabasas A, Inc. v. Moreno, No. S174475 (review granted 09/09/09)
Sonic-Calabasis is the oldest of these cases and has been fully briefed for some time. Sanchez is also fully briefed (including amicus briefs and responses) as of November. I had not previously noticed that in April, the Supreme Court granted calendar preference in Sanchez, which may mean the case is resolved much sooner than it otherwise would be. In September, the Court denied an application by an amicus participant for an extension of time to file its brief. Such requests are almost routinely granted in other cases. Given the preference order I think this case could be set for oral argument at any time.
In Iskanian, the opening brief on the merits was filed on December 20, 2012, and the answer brief on the merits on February 19, 2013. It will be some months before this case is ready for argument.
In other arbitration-related news, the Ninth Circuit recently refused to allow Toyota to take advantage of a no-class-action arbitration clause in the purchase agreement between the plaintiff car buyers and the dealership. Kramer v. Toyota Motor Corp., ___ F.3d ___ (9th Cir. Jan. 30, 2013).
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