Pearson Dental Supplies, Inc. v. Superior Court

Lavi & Ebrahimian, N. Nick Ebrahimian and Jordan D. Bello for Real Party in Interest.

Plaintiff Luis Turcios sued his former employer, defendant Pearson Dental Supplies, Inc., for age discrimination under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA; Gov. Code, § 12900 et seq.), among other claims. His employment agreement with defendant contained a mandatory arbitration clause for employment-related claims, and provided that any such claim is waived, unless submitted to arbitration within one year from the date the dispute arose or from the date plaintiff first became aware of facts giving rise to the dispute. Applying this provision in court-ordered arbitration, the arbitrator found that plaintiff had failed to timely submit his FEHA claim to arbitration. Therefore, the arbitrator granted summary judgment for defendant. The trial court, however, vacated the arbitration award on the ground, inter alia, that the one-year limitation period impermissibly infringed on plaintiff's unwaivable statutory rights under the FEHA, and that therefore the arbitrator had exceeded his power in enforcing the one-year limit. (Code Civ. Proc., § 1286.2, subd. (a)(4).) [1]…