Amended in Assembly January 27, 2014

Amended in Assembly May 23, 2013

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 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 begin delete as raw data in an open standard end delete begin insert in a end insert format that allows the public to begin delete search, extract, organize, and analyze end delete begin insert search end insert the information, and to make the report accessible on begin delete the home page of end delete the private arbitration company’s Internet Web site, as specified. begin delete 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 solely for injunctive relief to enjoin a material violation of these provisions, as specified. end delete begin insert 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. 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
(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.

begin delete

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

end delete begin delete

(3)

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert  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 begin delete party. end delete
begin insert party, if known. end insert

begin delete

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

end delete begin delete

(5)

end delete

begin insert (3) end insert  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; begin delete or employment. end delete
begin insert employment; or other. end insert 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). begin insert If the employee chooses not to provide wage
information, it may be noted. end insert

begin delete

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

end delete begin delete

(7)

end delete

begin insert (4) end insert  Whether the consumer or nonconsumer party was the
prevailing begin delete party as defined in Section 1032. end delete begin insert party. end insert

begin delete

(8)

end delete

begin insert (5) end insert  The total number of occasions, if any, the nonconsumer
party has previously been a party in an begin delete arbitration. end delete begin insert arbitration or
mediation administered by the private arbitration company. end insert

begin delete

(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 delete begin delete

(10)

end delete

begin insert (6) end insert  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.

begin delete

(11)

end delete

begin insert (7) 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

(12)

end delete

begin insert (8) end insert  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.

begin delete

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

(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.

(15)

end delete

begin insert (9) end insert  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.

begin delete

(16)

end delete

begin insert (10) end insert  The name of the arbitrator, his or her total fee for the case,
the percentage of the arbitrator’s fee allocated to each party,
begin insert whether a waiver of any fees was granted, end insert and begin delete whether the fee
allocation was included in the underlying award. end delete begin insert , if so, the amount
of the waiver. end insert

begin delete

(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 delete begin delete

(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 delete

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

(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.

begin delete

(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.

(g) A consumer or public prosecutor, as described in Section
17204 of the Business and Professions Code, may bring an action
solely for injunctive relief to enjoin a material violation of this
section. A technical, clerical, or de minimus violation shall not
constitute a material violation.

end delete begin insert

(f) It is the intent of the Legislature that private arbitration
companies comply with all legal obligations of this section.

end insert begin insert

(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.

end insert