BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1065
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 10, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
SB 1065
(Monning) - As Amended August 1, 2016
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|Policy |Judiciary |Vote:|10 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill establishes a time-limited appeal process for a
plaintiff for an order denying a motion to compel arbitration in
matters where the plaintiff has made a claim of elder abuse and
has been granted an expedited trial. Specifically, this bill:
1)Provides that, in a case where a plaintiff has filed a claim
pursuant to the Elder and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act
(EADACPA), and the court has dismissed or denied a petition to
instead compel arbitration, thus granting the plaintiff a
trial, any appeal of the court's decision must be decided
within 100 days of filing, unless the court of appeal grants
SB 1065
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an extension for good cause and in the interests of justice.
2)Requires the Judicial Council to adopt of Rule of Court to
implement the above.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Minor absorbable costs for the Judicial Council to adopt the
Rule of Court.
COMMENTS:
1)Background. Current law provides that persons over the age 70
may petition a court to grant a trial preference, which upon
granting, requires the court to set the matter for trial not
more than 120 days from that date the motion was granted.
According to the author, when there is an allegation of elder
abuse in a nursing home and the elder abuse victim is granted
a speedy trial preference, it is routine for a defendant
nursing home to file a motion to compel arbitration as a way
to avoid jury trial or to stall litigation proceedings.
Because appeals take anywhere from one to two years, the
victim of elder abuse may very likely die while awaiting for
the court of appeal to render a decision, which in most cases,
will be to uphold the trial court's decision and send the case
back to trial.
When a victim of elder abuse passes away, the defendant's
damages are reduced, as the elder's surviving family members
do not have the right to collect damages under EADACPA nor,
obviously, does the victim. Under existing law, if a court
orders parties to go to arbitration, the parties cannot appeal
that decision, but if a court denies arbitration and orders
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the parties go to trial, the injured parties can appeal.
2)Purpose. AB 1065 provides an expedited appeal process with a
fixed outer limit of 100 days to resolve the appeal of an
order denying a petition to compel arbitration in matters
where the plaintiff has filed a claim under the EADACPA, and
the plaintiff has been granted a trial preference because of
poor or failing health.
3)Opposition. The Judicial Council sites its longstanding
opposition to statutory calendar preferences for certain cases
and the potential adverse impact on other cases.
Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)
319-2081