Parish

I. INTRODUCTION

In 2016, Don E. Parish (plaintiff) purchased a used vehicle from a licensed vehicle

dealer (dealer). He subsequently discovered defects in the vehicle and that the vehicle

had an unreported prior accident history. Plaintiff eventually filed a civil action against

the dealer alleging causes of action for (1) violation of the Consumers Legal Remedies

Act (Civ. Code, § 1750 et seq.; CLRA), (2) fraudulent concealment, and (3) violation of

the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act (Civ. Code, § 1790 et seq.). Plaintiff also

alleged a cause of action against the dealer’s surety, Ohio Casualty Insurance Company

(surety defendant) for liability on a surety bond pursuant to Vehicle Code1 section 11711,

subdivision (a).

The dealer moved to compel arbitration, the trial court granted the dealer’s motion,

and the litigation was stayed with respect to the cause of action between plaintiff and

surety defendant. The arbitrator set the matter for an evidentiary hearing, held the

hearing in the dealer’s absence when the dealer failed to appear, and issued an award in

favor of plaintiff. The remaining cause of action against surety defendant was tried in a

court trial…