Del Toro v. Pacific Bay Lending Group CA4/2

I.

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff and respondent, Laurel Del Toro sued a number of defendants for a

number of employment claims in the superior court. Over two years later, two of the

defendants, Bay Valley Mortgage Group dba Pacific Bay Lending Group, Inc. (PBLG)

and Christine Kim moved to compel arbitration of Del Toro’s claims against them. The

motion was joined by other defendants, Adrian Enriquez, E.M. Capital Investment, Inc.,

United Trust Escrow, Inc., and Network Funding Group, Inc. (the Enrique Defendants).

The trial court found that PBLG and Kim waived their right to arbitration and denied

their motion to compel.

PBLG, Kim, and the Enriquez Defendants appeal, all asserting the same

arguments. Their main argument is the trial court erred because it incorrectly used

federal law for its waiver analysis and thus did not consider whether PBLG’s failure to

timely move to compel arbitration prejudiced Del Toro, which would have been an

important consideration under California law. They alternatively argue that, even if

federal law applies, the trial court improperly found they waived their right to arbitration.

We conclude that the trial court properly found PBLG and…