Bruni

Plaintiffs purchased single-family homes, which came with what they were told was “an added bonus” or “extra protection”—an express limited warranty. Actually, the warranty provided coverage, subject to sweeping exclusions, for the whole home for just one year, and for the electrical, plumbing, and mechanical systems for just two years; after that, the only coverage it provided was for “load-bearing elements,” and then only if the damage to them made the home “unsafe, unsanitary, or otherwise unlivable.” Some versions of the warranty purported to relieve the builder of any liability except under the warranty. Finally—and crucially—the warranty included arbitration provisions, purporting to require the purchaser to arbitrate disputes arising from or related to not only the warranty, but also the home, the sale of the home, and the arbitration provisions themselves.

When plaintiffs filed suit against the alleged builders, alleging construction defects, the builders moved to compel arbitration. The trial court denied the motions, because it found that “this agreement” was “unconscionable.”

The builders appeal. They contend that:

We will hold that because plaintiffs are…