Motion to be relieved as counsel
Moving counsel shall give notice of this ruling.
2 Omana v. Attorney Anthony Werbin’s motion to be relieved as counsel for Plaintiff Disneyland Nora Omana is GRANTED. The order relieving counsel will be effective International upon the filing of a proof of service of the executed order upon all parties.
Moving counsel shall give notice of this ruling.
1:30 p.m.
1 Lopez v. The court GRANTS IN PART Defendant MERCEDES-BENZ USA, LLC’s Mercedes-Benz motion to compel binding arbitration as set forth below. The request to USA, LLC stay proceedings on remaining claims is DENIED without prejudice.
The Arbitration Agreement
A party moving to compel arbitration bears an initial burden of producing “prima facie evidence of a written agreement to arbitrate the controversy.” (Gamboa v. Northeast Community Clinic (2021) 72 Cal.App.5th 158, 165–166.) The moving party “can meet its initial burden by attaching to the [motion or] petition a copy of the arbitration agreement purporting to bear the [opposing party's] signature.” (Bannister v. Marinidence Opco, LLC (2021) 64 Cal.App.5th 541.)
Alternatively, the moving party can meet its burden by setting forth the agreement's provisions in the motion. (Condee v. Longwood Management Corp. (2001) 88 Cal.App.4th 215, 219; see also Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.1330 [“The provisions must be stated verbatim or a copy must be physically or electronically attached to the petition and incorporated by reference.”].) For this step, “it is not necessary to follow the normal procedures of document authentication.” (Condee, at 218.) If the moving party meets its initial prima facie burden and the opposing party does not dispute the existence of the arbitration agreement, then nothing more is required for the moving party to meet its burden of persuasion.
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If the moving party meets its initial prima facie burden and the opposing party disputes the agreement, then in the second step, the opposing party bears the burden of producing evidence to challenge the authenticity of the agreement. (See Gamboa, 72 Cal.App.5th at 165–166.) The opposing party can do this in several ways. For example, the opposing party may testify under oath or declare under penalty of perjury that the party never saw or does not remember seeing the agreement, or that the party never signed or does not remember signing the agreement. (Id.) If the opposing party meets its burden of producing evidence, then in the third step, the moving party must establish with admissible evidence a valid arbitration agreement between the parties. The burden of proving the agreement by a preponderance of the evidence remains with the moving party. (Id.)
In support of Defendant’s motion, Defendant presents the declaration of counsel, Macy Chan, who declares as follows: “Attached as Exhibit 1 is the Consumer Lease Agreement (“Lease Agreement”) executed by