Burks

When plaintiff Bernard Burks sued defendants (jointly Kaiser) for “the egregious treatment [he] received from KAISER while suffering from a renal failure and awaiting a kidney transplant,” Kaiser petitioned to compel arbitration under the arbitration provision in the membership agreement between Burks and Kaiser. Burks opposed Kaiser’s petition on the ground the arbitration provision was unenforceable because the disclosure of the provision in Kaiser’s enrollment form—required by Health and Safety Code section 1363.1 (section 1363.1)—was not “prominently displayed” on the form as required by subdivision (b) of that statute.

The trial court agreed with Burks that the arbitration disclosure was not prominently displayed on the enrollment form, noting that it was “printed in the same or smaller typeface as the typeface used in the rest of the enrollment form” and was “neither highlighted, italicized nor bolded; nor does it have a separate heading.” Accordingly, the court denied the petition to compel arbitration.

On Kaiser’s timely appeal from that ruling, we find no error. Like the trial court, we conclude the arbitration disclosure was not “prominently displayed” on the…