Chomyk
Chomyk v. Christina Development Corp. CA2/3
Opinion
Opinion
Egerton, J.
BACKGROUND
CDC is a real estate investment company that manages properties in the Los Angeles area. On October 1, 2018, Chomyk began working for CDC as its director of portfolio management. Chomyk signed an arbitration agreement with CDC on his first day of work. CDC terminated Chomyk’s employment less than two months later on November 26. On October 16, 2020, Chomyk sued CDC for wrongful termination and other claims in the Los Angeles Superior Court. Chomyk claimed he was fired because he was a whistleblower. CDC moved to compel arbitration based on the arbitration agreement Chomyk had signed. Chomyk opposed the motion on the grounds the agreement was unconscionable and procured
Undesignated statutory citations are to the Code of Civil Procedure.
2 by deceit and economic duress. The arbitration agreement included a delegation clause that gave the arbitrator “exclusive authority to resolve any dispute relating to the . . . enforceability” of the arbitration agreement, including “any claim that all or any part of” the agreement was “void or voidable.” The court held an evidentiary hearing, at Chomyk’s request, in June 2021. The “narrow issue” before the court was whether…