Livingston v. VH Property Corp. CA2/5

Filed 12/15/25 Livingston v. VH Property Corp. CA2/5 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FIVE

DANNIE LIVINGSTON, B346660

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. CT. No. 24STCV19804) v.

VH PROPERTY CORP.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, William F. Highberger, Judge. Affirmed. Payne & Fears, Ray E. Boggess, Tyler B. Runge and Kathryn M. Querner for Defendant and Appellant. Moon Law Group, H. Scott Leviant, Kane Moon and Jaeyoung Lee for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Defendant and appellant VH Property Corporation appeals the trial court’s order denying its motion to compel arbitration of plaintiff and respondent Dannie Livingston’s individual claims asserted under the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (Lab. Code, § 2698 et seq.) (PAGA).1 We hold the plain meaning of the arbitration clause at issue excludes individual PAGA claims from arbitration and results in affirmance of the trial court’s order. BACKGROUND Plaintiff was employed as a “Player-Host” at a golf course operated by defendant. Plaintiff signed an arbitration agreement (“Agreement”) with defendant on December 16, 2021. The part of the Agreement at issue is included in the section entitled, “Claims Not Covered by this Agreement”; it reads as follows. (B) “ . . . Claims under the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (“PAGA”) . . . are also excluded from this Agreement to the extent that the operative law at the time a PAGA claim is made precludes a pre-dispute waiver of the right to bring such claims on a representative basis. If the operative law provides that pre-dispute waivers of the right to bring PAGA claims on a representative basis are enforceable, then