Young Seok Suh v. Superior Court

INTRODUCTION

Petitioners and plaintiffs Young Seok Suh and Yongkew Chung (plaintiffs) are anesthesiologists who were with a medical group that entered into two anesthesiology contracts with a hospital. They seek review of an order by the trial court compelling arbitration. We grant their petition for writ of mandate, holding that plaintiffs did not agree to arbitrate disputes relating to one of the contracts and that the terms of the arbitration clause in the other contract are, because of the applicable rules limiting damage remedies, unconscionable, rendering the agreement to arbitrate unenforceable.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs were anesthesiologists on the medical staff of real party in interest and defendant Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, L.P. CHA Hollywood Medical Center, L.P., which does business under the name “Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center,” operated the Hospital. In 2005, plaintiffs formed a group, “HP Anesthesia LLC” (HP LLC), with defendants and real parties in interests, Hyung R. Shin, Sung T. Kim, Romeo Velasco and Sung H. Kim, all of whom are anesthesiologists. In 2006, HP LLC entered into an “Agreement for Anesthesiology Department Coverage”…