California’s Fifth District Court of Appeal’s decision in Ayala‑Ventura v. Superior Court is the first to directly contrast with the Second District Court of Appeal’s opinion in Cook v. University of Southern California. While both cases focus on arbitration agreements of “infinite” duration, Ayala-Ventura stresses the importance of context, industry, and drafting choices, which can mean the difference between an enforceable agreement and one that is struck down as unconscionable.

In Ayala‑Ventura, a janitorial company, CCS Facility Services, required new ...

California employers are still adjusting to the post‑Adolph Private Attorneys General Act landscape, where individual claims can be compelled to arbitration while a representative PAGA claim proceeds in court. The Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Sorokunov v. NetApp, Inc. is important for its impact on how a defense win in individual arbitration may have a preclusive effect on a concurrent PAGA action pending in Superior Court.

The underlying dispute involved a high‑earning employee subject to a written incentive plan with a “windfall” provision that capped ...