Court of Appeal reverses itself on unconscionability after Discover Bank

In an unpublished opinion issued yesterday, the Court of Appeal (First Appellate District, Division Five) in Parrish v. Cingular Wireless reexamined its view of a no-class-action arbitration clause in light of Discover Bank v. Superior Court, 36 Cal.4th 148 (2005). As you may recall, the original Parrish opinion held that the clause in question was "not unduly one-sided, harsh, or in violation of public policy." Now, the new opinion holds that: "Pursuant to the rule of Discover Bank, we conclude that the class arbitration ban effectively operates to exculpate Cingular from responsibility for its own willful injury to a large class of consumers, and the class arbitration ban is thereby unconscionable." Slip op. at 10.