Maxwell v. Atria Management Company, LLC (Cal. Ct. App., Sept. 19, 2024, No. A168043) 2024 WL 4259238
A resident’s kids, including her son who’s handling her estate, sued a senior living facility. They claim wrongful death, negligence, and elder abuse because the resident died after drinking an industrial cleaner that a facility worker accidentally put into a drinking pitcher. The court in San Mateo County, led by Judge Susan L. Greenberg, refused the facility’s request to move the case to arbitration, so the facility is appealing the decision. The Court of Appeal, with Judge Siggins presiding, ruled that:
- The case would be sent back to review the decision in light of California Supreme Court rulings and unresolved issues.
- Claims for wrongful death could not be settled through arbitration.
- The trial court had the power to decide not to enforce the arbitration agreement.
- The arbitration agreement did not override the state law that lets courts refuse to force arbitration if one party is also involved in another lawsuit related to the same incident.
In litigation, large corporations regularly attempt to limit or conceal their wrongdoing by forcing cases into private binding arbitration where the corporation is a repeat customer and outcomes statistically disfavor the individual.