Arguelles-Romero

Plaintiffs Arturo Arguelles-Romero and Evangelina Amezcua attempted to pursue a class action against AmeriCredit Financial Services, Inc. (AmeriCredit), the assignee of plaintiffs’ automobile financing contract. Relying on an arbitration clause with a class action waiver contained in the contract, AmeriCredit moved to compel individual arbitration. Plaintiffs opposed the motion on the basis that the arbitration clause and class action waiver constituted an unconscionable exculpatory clause. The trial court disagreed and granted the motion to compel individual arbitration. Plaintiffs sought immediate review by means of a petition for writ of mandate and we issued an order to show cause. While we hold the trial court did not err in finding the class action waiver was not unconscionable, we also conclude that it should have also performed a discretionary analysis on whether a class action is a significantly more effective practical means of vindicating the unwaivable statutory rights at issue. We therefore grant the petition and remand with directions.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

1. Underlying Facts

On February 19, 2006, plaintiffs, a married couple, purchased a new…