Morales

I. BACKGROUND

In October 2019, Morales filed a class action complaint alleging that Midland failed to include in a debt collection letter a notice that Civil Code section 1788.52, subdivision (d)(1) requires in a first written communication with a debtor. Midland sent the letter in connection with a “ ‘charged-off consumer debt’ ” that Midland bought from Credit One Bank, N.A. (Credit One). Midland petitioned the trial court to compel individual arbitration under an agreement between Morales and Credit One. In December 2020, the trial court entered an order compelling individual arbitration, dismissing Morales’s putative class claims as waived by the arbitration provision, and staying trial court proceedings. The day the order issued, Morales initiated arbitration with the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and paid his filing fee. Around February 2021, the parties began individual settlement negotiations. In June 2021, AAA notified the parties that it had appointed an arbitrator and invoiced Midland $2,900. In the invoice, AAA advised that the arbitration was covered by sections 1281.97 and 1281.98, under which payment had to be received by July 30, 2021. The parties…