| Court: | California Court of Appeals |
| Facts: | Ramirez signed an agreement as part of his employment contract that
said all disputes with the employer would be handled by arbitration.
This waived a lot of rights: no class actions, limited discovery,
limitations on filing times, burden of proof on the employee, etc.
Ramirez accuses Circuit City of violating some labor laws (e.g., not paying doublt minimum wage for work involving the employees' own tools). He tries to sue, but Circuit City says arbitration is the only path. |
| Posture: | Defendant appeals from a trial court finding that the arbitration agreement is unconscionable. |
| Issue: | Is it unconscionable? |
| Holding: | Yes. Affirmed. |
| Rule: | Procedural and substantive unconscionability are required. |
| Reasoning: | The fact that Circuit City can seek redress through the courts, but employees are relegated to arbitration is presumptively unconscionable. Also, there's some pressure to sign. |
| Dicta: | |