Burton

We affirm the trial court’s determination that a patient waived her contractual right to arbitrate a medical malpractice dispute by waiting to pursue arbitration until the virtual eve of trial, long after discovery, including expert discovery, had been completed.

Substantial evidence supports the trial court’s factual determination on waiver, based on our Supreme Court’s multifactored test in St. Agnes Medical Center v. PacifiCare of California (2003) 31 Cal.4th 1187, 1195 [ 8 Cal.Rptr.3d 517 , 82 P.3d 727 ] (St. Agnes). The physician suffered prejudice by losing whatever time and cost benefits could have been gained through arbitration and by focusing his litigation efforts on a jury trial rather than an arbitration panel. Audiences matter, and the factual record supports a finding of prejudice.

*943 I

Factual and Procedural Background

Plaintiff Kirsten Burton consulted with defendant Joseph T. Cruise, a Newport Beach plastic surgeon, regarding a liposuction procedure. In a preprinted agreement, Burton and Cruise agreed to arbitrate “any issue of medical malpractice . . . .” (Capitalization omitted.) The agreement provided that either party could submit an…