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Littler

California High Court Limits Use of Formatting and “Fine Print” Arguments to Defeat Arbitration

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The California Supreme Court (the “Court”) has confirmed that an arbitration agreement’s formatting—standing alone—does not render its terms substantively unconscionable, even where the text is difficult to read.1 The Court...more

Thompson Coburn LLP

Fuentes v. Empire Nissan: Heightened Scrutiny for Arbitration Agreement Unconscionability

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In Fuentes v. Empire Nissan, Inc., the California Supreme Court recently issued an opinion calling on courts to “closely scrutinize” arbitration agreements for substantive unconscionability where there is extreme procedural...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

California High Court Says Contract Illegibility Warrants Increased Substantive Scrutiny

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The California Supreme Court held that illegibility and tiny font are matters of procedural, not substantive, unconscionability. However, courts must closely scrutinize the terms of hard-to-read agreements for unfairness, and...more

CDF Labor Law LLP

California Supreme Court “Clarifies” Standard for Enforcement of Illegible Arbitration Agreements

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In employment cases, Plaintiff’s claim that arbitration agreements with small or blurry print should not be enforced as substantively and procedurally unconscionable due to the difficulty in reading the words in the contract....more

Quarles & Brady LLP

California Supreme Court Addresses Enforceability of “Visually Impenetrable” Arbitration Provision

Quarles & Brady LLP on

On February 3, 2026, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in Fuentes v. Empire Nissan, Inc. In this decision, which dealt with an illegible arbitration provision, the Supreme Court reversed the lower court and...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Arbitration Agreement’s Illegible Print Not Automatically Invalid as Unfair

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The California Supreme Court held in Fuentes v. Empire Nissan, Inc. (Feb. 2, 2026) that small or blurry print in an arbitration agreement does not automatically invalidate the agreement as unconscionable. Instead, the Court...more

Marshall Dennehey

California Supreme Court Rejects Automatic Expungement of Attorney Disciplinary Records

Marshall Dennehey on

Last year, we reported on a California State Bar initiative to expunge attorney discipline records, other than disbarment, after eight years. See Legal Updates for Lawyers’ Professional Liability – February 2025. The proposed...more

Perkins Coie

No Entitlement to Attorneys’ Fees Where Successful Claims Were Nullified by Legislation and California Supreme Court Decision

Perkins Coie on

Petitioners were not “successful parties” entitled to attorneys’ fees under Code of Civil Procedure 1021.5 after the Legislature abrogated their legal victories by statute and the Supreme Court reversed the judgment. Make UC...more

Fisher Phillips

Top 2026 Predictions for California Workplace Law

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One of our California thought leaders pulled together his top predictions for the new year so that employers can get a running start to 2026....more

Allen Matkins

Sustainable Development and Land Use Update 12.18.25

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San Diego approved new growth blueprints this Tuesday for Clairemont and the College Area that could bring tens of thousands of new residents to both neighborhoods by allowing mid-rise and high-rise housing in more places....more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

California Supreme Court Cases Employers Should Watch in 2026

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Several employment-related cases are currently pending before the California Supreme Court, and their outcomes could have a significant impact on workplace policies and risk management for employers and HR professionals....more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

“Headless” PAGA Claim May Proceed

This case involves the (much-litigated) issue currently pending before the California Supreme Court in Leeper v. Shipt, Inc., 107 Cal. App. 5th 1001, rev. granted (2025): Does the version of PAGA in effect from 2016 to...more

Fisher Phillips

Looking Ahead to Leeper: California Supreme Court to Address “Headless” PAGA Claims

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Even with the statutory clarifications that came along with last year’s PAGA reforms, California courts continue to wrestle with one of the thorniest aspects of the law: whether plaintiffs can maintain particularly troubling...more

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP

Another Crucial Win for Employers re: Untimely Arbitration Fee Payments

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP on

On the heels of the California Supreme Court’s ruling in Hohenshelt v. Superior Court, the California Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Wilson v. TAP Worldwide, LLC has provided welcome clarity and significant breathing...more

Morgan Lewis

California Supreme Court: ‘Good Faith’ Defense to Minimum Wage Liquidated Damages Must Show Attempt to Understand Law

Morgan Lewis on

The California Supreme Court recently held in Iloff v. LaPaille that an employer seeking to assert the good-faith defense to avoid mandated liquidated damages for failing to pay an employee the minimum wages must show that...more

Morgan Lewis

California Supreme Court Holds State Law Requiring Timely Payment of Arbitration Fees Not Preempted by FAA

Morgan Lewis on

In Hohenshelt v. Superior Court, the California Supreme Court held that Section 1281.98 of the California Arbitration Act (CAA) is not preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). Section 12.81.98 provides that if a party...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

PAGA Paraphrased – Galarsa v. Dolgen California, LLC

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The Fifth District Court of Appeal reaffirmed its earlier holding in CRST Expedited, Inc. v. Superior Court that plaintiffs can bring “headless” PAGA actions—claims seeking civil penalties solely for Labor Code violations...more

Vedder

California Supreme Court Grants Relief to Employers for Late Arbitration Fees

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The California Supreme Court recently granted employers a modicum of relief from the harsh consequences of an employer’s failure to timely pay required arbitration fees within the 30-day deadline imposed by California Code of...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

Supreme Court Saves (But Guts) Anti-Arbitration Statute

Hohenshelt v. Golden State Foods Corp., 18 Cal. 5th 310 (2025) - In this closely watched case, the California Supreme Court held that California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1281.98 — a do-or-die statute requiring...more

Morgan Lewis

California Supreme Court Clarifies Treatment of Intangibles in Hotel Property Tax Valuation

Morgan Lewis on

The California Supreme Court in Olympic and Georgia Partners, LLC v. County of Los Angeles addressed how certain payments and valuation methods should be treated in property tax assessments of hotel properties. While the...more

Lewitt Hackman

Good Faith Requires Action: The New Standard for Employer Defense

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As defense attorneys, we often encounter matters where an employer’s good-faith mistake gives rise to wage and hour litigation. While ignorance of the law generally provides no defense, a good-faith mistake, historically...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Leeper v. Shipt: Will California Hamper Arbitration in PAGA Employment Lawsuits?

Troutman Pepper Locke on

In Leeper v. Shipt, the California Supreme Court will revisit the ongoing question of whether, and to what extent, employees can pursue litigation in court for violation of the California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA),...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

California Supreme Court raises bar for employers: “We didn’t know” is no defense

In a unanimous decision that strengthened California’s already robust worker protections laws, the state’s Supreme Court has made it harder for employers to avoid increased damages for minimum wage violations. The ruling in...more

K&L Gates LLP

California Employers Granted Slight Reprieve From Onerous Arbitration Fee Payment Requirements

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On 11 August 2025, California employers scored some relief from a rigidly applied arbitration statute with the California Supreme Court’s highly anticipated decision in Hohenshelt v. Superior Court (Hohenshelt)....more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Late Payments in California Arbitrations No Longer an Automatic Breach

On August 11, 2025, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in Hohenshelt v. Superior Court and peeled away the draconian application of California's arbitration fee statute, California Civil Procedure Code §§...more

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