BILL NUMBER: AB 802	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 16, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JANUARY 27, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 23, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 13, 2013

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 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 in a format that allows the public to search
 and   sort  the information  using readily
available software  , and to make the report accessible on the
private arbitration company's Internet Web site, as specified. The
bill would express the intent of the Legislature that private
arbitration companies comply with all legal obligations under these
provisions, and also would provide that any amendments made by this
act to the reporting requirements of a private arbitration company
would not apply to consumer arbitrations administered by the private
arbitration company before January 1, 2015.
   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
(c), a private arbitration company that administers or is otherwise
involved in a consumer arbitration, shall collect, publish at least
quarterly, and make available to the public on the Internet Web site
of the private arbitration company, if any, and on paper upon
request, a single cumulative report that contains all of the
following information regarding each consumer arbitration within the
preceding five years:
   (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.
   (2) The name of the nonconsumer party, if the nonconsumer party is
a corporation or other business entity, and whether the nonconsumer
party was the initiating party or the responding party, if known.
   (3) The nature of the dispute 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; personal injury; employment; or
other. If the dispute involved 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). If
the employee chooses not to provide wage information, it may be
noted.
   (4) Whether the consumer or nonconsumer party was the prevailing
party.  As used in this section, "prevailing party" includes the
party with a net monetary recovery or an award of injunctive relief.

   (5) The total number of occasions, if any, the nonconsumer party
has previously been a party in an arbitration  or mediation
 administered by the private arbitration company. 
   (6) The total number of occasions, if any, the nonconsumer party
has previously been a party in a mediation administered by the
private arbitration company.  
   (6) 
    (7)  Whether the consumer party was represented by an
attorney and, if so, the name of the attorney and the full name of
the law firm that employs the attorney, if any. 
   (7) 
    (8)  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. 
   (8) 
    (9)  The type of disposition of the dispute, if known,
identified as one of the following: withdrawal, abandonment,
settlement, award after hearing, award without hearing, default, or
dismissal without hearing. 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. 
   (9) 
    (10) The amount of the claim, whether equitable relief
was requested or awarded, the amount of any monetary award, the
amount of any attorney's fees awarded, and any other relief granted,
if any. 
   (10) 
    (11)  The name of the arbitrator, his or her total fee
for the case, the percentage of the arbitrator's fee allocated to
each party, whether a waiver of any fees was granted, and, if so, the
amount of the waiver.
   (b) The information required by this section shall be made
available in a format that allows the public to search  and sort
 the information  using readily available software  ,
and shall be directly accessible from a conspicuously displayed link
on the Internet Web site of the private arbitration company with the
identifying description: "consumer case information."
   (c) (1) If the information required by subdivision (a) is provided
by the private arbitration company in compliance with subdivision
(b) 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 in compliance with subdivision (b), 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.
   (d) This section shall apply to any consumer arbitration commenced
on or after January 1, 2003.
   (e) A private arbitration company shall not have any liability for
collecting, publishing, or distributing the information required by
this section.
   (f) It is the intent of the Legislature that private arbitration
companies comply with all legal obligations of this section.
   (g) The amendments to subdivision (a) made by the act adding this
subdivision shall not apply to any consumer arbitration administered
by a private arbitration company before January 1, 2015.