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Law360 Publishes Partner Josephine Petrick’s Analysis of California Supreme Court’s Arbitration Cases in its 2024-2025 Term
Norton Law Firm complex litigation partner Josephine Petrick, a California State Bar-Certified Appellate Specialist, published an expert analysis in Law360 entitled “Calif. Justices Continued Anti-Arbitration Trend This Term,” examining how the California Supreme Court’s 2024–2025 term reflects a continued trend that has drawn national attention and dissent from within the state judiciary: a steady narrowing of arbitration’s reach under state law, even as the court embraces contractual autonomy in other contexts.
Through cases like Hohenshelt v. Superior Court, Holland v. Silverscreen Healthcare, and the Ford Motor Warranty Cases, the court limited when arbitration clauses can be enforced, especially where statutory rights or parties perceived as more vulnerable are involved. In Hohenshelt, the court reinterpreted a fee-payment statute to avoid federal preemption. Meanwhile, Holland and Ford Motor declined to hold heirs and manufacturers bound by arbitration agreements signed by related parties, further limiting arbitration’s reach.
By contrast, in EpicentRx v. Superior Court, the justices upheld a forum-selection clause that eliminated jury rights, emphasizing freedom of contract when arbitration was not at stake. Josephine suggests this inconsistency reveals the Court’s true priority: maintaining judicial control over certain cases involving consumer and employee disputes, not necessarily safeguarding the constitutional right to a jury. The article notes the practical tension this creates as California courts struggle with massive backlogs, in that restricting arbitration may inadvertently harm the vulnerable litigants the court aims to protect by routing them away from them faster, less costly resolutions.
Josephine monitors the decisions of the Supreme Court of California, which issued 24 civil opinions during its 2024–2025 court year. In addition to her Law360 article, she has summarized 18 decisions with major implications for business and consumer litigation for the Firm’s blog.
Click here to read Josephine’s blog: “Appellate Specialist and Partner Josephine K. Petrick Provides Year in Review: California Supreme Court 2024–2025.
To read Josephine’s article in Law360, please click here. (Subscription may be required.)