Amended in Senate June 16, 2014

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 in a format that allows the public to search begin insert and sort end insert the information begin insert using readily available software end insert , 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. begin insert As used in this section, “prevailing party”
includes the party with a net monetary recovery or an award of
injunctive relief. end insert

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

begin insert

(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.

end insert begin delete

(6)

end delete

begin insert (7) 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

(7)

end delete

begin insert (8) 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

(8)

end delete

begin insert (9) 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

(9)

end delete

begin insert (10) 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

(10)

end delete

begin insert (11) 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,
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 begin insert and sort end insert the
information begin insert using readily available software end insert , 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.