Amended in Assembly May 13, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 802

Introduced by Assembly Member Wieckowski

February 21, 2013

An act to amend Section 1281.96 of the Code of Civil Procedure, relating to consumer arbitration.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 802, as amended, Wieckowski. Private arbitration companies: disclosures.

Existing law regulates arbitration conducted pursuant to an arbitration agreement, as specified. Existing law requires a private arbitration company involved in consumer arbitration cases to collect and make certain information regarding those cases available to the public in a computer-searchable format, accessible at the Internet Web site of the private arbitration company, if it has an Internet Web site, and on paper upon request.

This bill would require begin delete that information, made available to the public in a computer-searchable format on a private arbitration company’s Internet Web site, to also be available in a sortable database format. end delete begin insert a private arbitration company to collect additional information related to a consumer arbitration case, as specified, and to provide the information in a single cumulative report. The bill would require a private arbitration company to make the report available as raw data in an open standard format that allows the public to search, extract, organize, and analyze the information, and to make the report accessible on the home page of the private arbitration company’s Internet Web site, as specified. The bill would, within 30 days of the closing of a consumer arbitration case, require a private arbitration company to provide each party with the specific information that the company proposes to report, and to provide the parties with a reasonable period of time to notify it of any errors. The bill also would authorize a consumer or public prosecutor to bring an action to enforce these provisions, as specified. end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 1281.96 of the Code of Civil Procedure
is amended to read:

1281.96.  

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of subdivision
begin delete (b) end delete begin insert (c) end insert , a private arbitration company that administers or is
otherwise involved begin delete in, end delete begin insert in end insert a consumer arbitration, shall collect,
publish at least quarterly, and make available to the public begin delete in a
computer-searchable and sortable database format, which shall be
accessible at end delete begin insert on end insert the Internet Web begin delete site, if any, end delete begin insert site end insert of the private
arbitration company begin insert , if any, end insert and on paper upon request, begin insert a single
cumulative report that contains end insert all of the following information
regarding each consumer arbitration within the preceding five
years:

begin insert

(1) Whether arbitration was demanded pursuant to a pre-dispute
arbitration clause and, if so, whether the pre-dispute arbitration
clause designated the administering private arbitration company.

end insert begin insert

(2) Whether the arbitration was administered pursuant to, or
as a result of, a petition to compel arbitration.

end insert begin delete

(1)

end delete

begin insert (3) end insert  The name of the nonconsumer party, if the nonconsumer
party is a corporation or other business entity begin insert , and whether the
nonconsumer party was the initiating party or the responding
party end insert .

begin insert

(4) The state in which the arbitration occurred and the state in
which each party resides.

end insert begin delete

(2) The type

end delete

begin insert (5) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert The nature end insert of begin insert the end insert dispute begin delete involved, including goods,
banking, end delete begin delete insurance, health care, employment, and, if it involves end delete
begin insert involved as one of the following: goods; credit; other banking or
finance; insurance; health care; construction; real estate;
telecommunications, including software and Internet usage; debt
collection end insert begin insert ; personal injury end insert begin insert ; or employment. If the dispute involved end insert
employment, the amount of the employee’s annual wage divided
into the following ranges: less than one hundred thousand dollars
($100,000), one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) to two
hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000), inclusive, and over two
hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000).

begin insert

(6) Whether any counterclaims or cross-claims were requested
or allowed, and whether class arbitration was requested or
granted.

end insert begin delete

(3)

end delete

begin insert (7) end insert  Whether the consumer or nonconsumer party was the
prevailing party begin insert as defined in Section 1032 end insert .

begin delete

(4) On how many

end delete

begin insert (8) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert The total number of end insert occasions, if any, the nonconsumer party
has previously been a party in an arbitration begin delete or mediation
administered by the private arbitration company end delete .

begin insert

(9) The total number of occasions, if any, the nonconsumer
party has previously been a party in a mediation administered by
the private arbitration company.

end insert begin delete

(5)

end delete

begin insert (10) end insert  Whether the consumer party was represented by an attorney
begin insert and, if so, the name of the attorney and the full name of the law
firm that employs the attorney, if any end insert .

begin delete

(6)

end delete

begin insert (11) end insert  The date the private arbitration company received the
demand for arbitration, the date the arbitrator was appointed, and
the date of disposition by the arbitrator or private arbitration
company.

begin delete

(7) The

end delete

begin insert (12) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert The end insert type of disposition of the dispute, if known, begin delete including end delete
begin insert identified as one of the following: end insert withdrawal, abandonment,
settlement, award after hearing, award without hearing, default,
or dismissal without hearing. begin insert If a case was administered in a
hearing, indicate whether the hearing was conducted in person,
by telephone or video conference, or by documents only. end insert

begin insert

(13) Whether the private arbitration company rejected or
declined to administer the dispute and, if so, the reasons upon
which the decision was based.

end insert begin insert

(14) Whether the private arbitration company terminated
administration of the dispute for nonpayment of fees and, if so, the
party or parties that failed to pay the required fees.

end insert begin delete

(8)

end delete

begin insert (15) end insert  The amount of the claim, begin insert whether equitable relief was
requested or awarded, end insert the amount of begin delete the end delete begin insert any monetary end insert award, begin insert the
amount of any attorney’s fees awarded, end insert and any other relief
granted, if any.

begin delete

(9)

end delete

begin insert (16) end insert  The name of the arbitrator, his or her total fee for the case,
begin delete and end delete the percentage of the arbitrator’s fee allocated to each party begin insert ,
and whether the fee allocation was included in the underlying
award end insert .

begin insert

(17) The total amount of the private arbitration company’s fees,
the percentage of those fees allocated to each party, whether a
waiver of any fees was granted for an indigent party, and, if so,
the amount of the waiver.

end insert begin insert

(18) The rules governing the arbitration, including whether the
parties were permitted full discovery, whether the arbitrator was
required to apply the law, whether the arbitrator was required to
follow the rules of evidence, and whether the parties were entitled
to all legal remedies.

end insert begin insert

(b) The information required by this section shall be made
available as raw data in an open standard format that allows the
public to search, extract, organize, and analyze the information,
and shall be directly accessible from a conspicuously displayed
link on the Internet Web site home page, if any, of the private
arbitration company with the identifying description: “consumer
case information.” The information shall be presented
alphabetically by nonconsumer party name, and within that order,
chronologically based on the filing date of the arbitration.

end insert begin delete

(b)

end delete

begin insert (c) end insert  (1) If the information required by subdivision (a) is provided
by the private arbitration company in begin delete a computer-searchable and
sortable database format at the company’s Internet Web site end delete
begin insert compliance with subdivision (b) end insert and may be downloaded without
a fee, the company may charge the actual cost of copying to any
person who requests the information on paper. If the information
required by subdivision (a) is not accessible by the Internet begin insert in
compliance with subdivision (b) end insert , the company shall provide that
information without charge to any person who requests the
information on paper.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a private arbitration company
that receives funding pursuant to Chapter 8 (commencing with
Section 465) of Division 1 of the Business and Professions Code
and that administers or conducts fewer than 50 consumer
arbitrations per year may collect and publish the information
required by subdivision (a) semiannually, provide the information
only on paper, and charge the actual cost of copying.

begin delete

(c)

end delete

begin insert (d) end insert  This section shall apply to any consumer arbitration
commenced on or after January 1, 2003.

begin delete

(d)

end delete

begin insert (e) end insert  A private arbitration company shall not have any liability
for collecting, publishing, or distributing the information required
by this section.

begin insert

(f) Within 30 days of closing a consumer arbitration case subject
to this section, a private arbitration company shall provide each
party with a copy of this section and the specific information that
the company proposes to report pursuant to subdivision (a). The
private arbitration company shall provide the parties with a
reasonable period of time to notify it of any errors and shall
promptly correct any errors.

end insert begin insert

(g) (1) A consumer or public prosecutor, as described in Section
17204 of the Business and Professions Code, may bring an action
to enforce compliance with this section and to prevent a private
arbitration company from administering further consumer
arbitrations until the company is in compliance.

end insert begin insert

(2) A court may impose, in its discretion, a civil penalty from
ten thousand dollars ($10,000) to twenty-five thousand dollars
($25,000) to be deposited in the state account established for the
distribution of funds to support dispute resolution programs as
provided in Section 470.5 of the Business and Professions Code.

end insert begin insert

(3) The court shall award a prevailing consumer or public
prosecutor reasonable attorney’s fees and costs incurred in
ensuring compliance with this section.

end insert