Judge: Joel R Wohlfeil, Case: 37-2023-00039938-CU-OE-CTL, Date: 2023-12-15 Tentative Ruling

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA,

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HALL OF JUSTICE

TENTATIVE RULINGS - December 14, 2023

12/15/2023  09:00:00 AM  C-73 COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO

JUDICIAL OFFICER:Joel R. Wohlfeil

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Civil - Unlimited  Other employment Motion Hearing (Civil) 37-2023-00039938-CU-OE-CTL MERAZ VS BRIGHTVIEW LANDSCAPE DEVELOPMENT INC [IMAGED] CAUSAL DOCUMENT/DATE FILED: Motion - Other, 10/25/2023

The Motion (ROA # 10, 19) of Defendants Brightview Landscape Development, Inc. and Brightview Landscape Services, Inc. ('Defendants' or 'BrightView') for an order Compelling Plaintiff Jose Meraz ('Plaintiff') to arbitrate all the claims he asserts against BrightView including any dispute about the validity, formation, or enforceability of the agreement, or the arbitrator's jurisdiction, is DENIED.

Fraud in the execution of a contract goes to the inception or execution of the agreement, so that the promisor is deceived as to the nature of his act, and actually does not know what he is signing, or does not intend to enter into a contract at all, mutual assent is lacking, and the contract is void. Najarro v. Superior Court (2021) 70 Cal. App. 5th 871, 885, 886.

In such a case, the contract may be disregarded without the necessity of rescission. Id. at 886.

Claims of fraud in the execution of the entire agreement are not arbitrable under either state or federal law. Id. If the entire contract is void ab initio because of fraud, the parties have not agreed to arbitrate any controversy. Id. The fact that a party did not have an understanding of the English language, did not know what they were signing and were subjected to high pressure selling methods supported a finding of fraud in the execution. Id. (quoting Rosenthal v. Great Western Fin. Securities Corp. (1996) 14 Cal. 4th 394, 428 and C.I.T. Corp. v. Panac (1944) 25 Cal. 2d 547).

The Najarro opinion also states as follows: 'In her declaration, Martha Serrano stated that she was born in Mexico and attended school up to the second grade, but has no formal education beyond that. As a result, she does not know how to read Spanish, and she does not know how to speak or read in English. She went to Horizon to seek employment at J & J. Once there, she was presented with a stack of documents to sign without an explanation of what each document meant. She was told she could not take the documents home.

Serrano stated that she had a difficult time completing the paperwork because she did not know how to read. She was asked, ' 'do you want to work or not?' ' She replied, '[W]hat do these documents say? I don't know how to read,' to which she was told, 'It's okay, if you don't know how to read, then just sign them,' adding that it was 'nothing important.' She signed a Spanish version of Version One. Nowhere Calendar No.: Event ID:  TENTATIVE RULINGS

3047419  13 CASE NUMBER: CASE TITLE:  MERAZ VS BRIGHTVIEW LANDSCAPE DEVELOPMENT INC  37-2023-00039938-CU-OE-CTL in their motion to compel Serrano to arbitration, motion for joinder, or reply did real parties in interest refute these statements from Serrano with evidence.

Given Serrano's inability to read either Spanish or English, the fact she was told that her arbitration agreement and other agreements were unimportant, statements pressuring her to sign ('do you want to work or not?'), a lack of an explanation as to what she was signing despite her professed inability to understand, and an omission of any factual dispute as to these issues, we conclude that Serrano has adequately established fraud in the execution under Rosenthal and C.I.T. Corp.' Id. at 886, 887.

The declaration of Plaintiff states that he was born in Mexico. He is a native Spanish speaker, and cannot speak or understand English. He has never attended school, and never learned to read or write in English or in Spanish. In 2017 he started working for Terra Group, the company that was later acquired by Defendants.

The declaration also states: '6. On or around June 25, 2019, I arrived to work for my shift at the Terra Group office in Chula Vista. At the office, my Terra Group supervisor, Luis Monson, told me and my coworkers that in order to work our shifts the next day, we needed to go to an office in National City to sign papers. That day, after I completed my shift in the afternoon, my coworkers and I drove to the office in National City on 30th Street, just as Mr. Monson had directed.

7. We arrived at the National City office where Mr. Monson was waiting for us. Mr. Monson instructed us to give him our social security and ID cards. After collecting our identification cards, Mr. Monson proceeded to fill out papers. Then, Mr. Monson called me over to him and pointed to certain areas on several documents for me to write my signature. I signed the documents as instructed because I wanted to keep my job. Mr. Monson did not explain any of the documents to me. He only stated that I needed to sign my name on the documents if I wanted to work my shift the following day. After I signed, Mr.

Monson returned my social card and ID card. He also handed me a new work vest with BrightView's logo. I left the office and took the trolley home.

8. I was unable to review and understand this declaration by myself because I cannot read or write.

As such, a bilingual person read and translated each sentence to me in Spanish so I could fully understand what I am signing. Before signing this declaration, I listened, understood, and approved every sentence.' Plaintiff's declaration is unrefuted and establishes an inability to understand the documents Plaintiff was asked to sign. The declaration establishes Plaintiff was pressured to sign under threat of losing his job, and that the import of the documents was not explained to him. Defendant's reply does not dispute these facts, and it is beyond belief that Plaintiff's supervisor did not know Plaintiff did not speak or understand English. The reply brief argues there is no evidence of fraud, e.g., no evidence that Defendants knew Plaintiff did not know what he was signing. However, this is not the case.

Based on this record, the Court concludes that Plaintiff's supervisor must have known Plaintiff did not speak or understand English, but Defendants nonetheless failed to provide a Spanish translation of the agreement. Plaintiff's supervisor filled out the forms for Plaintiff, suggesting a knowledge of an inability to write or understand. The agreement bears a nearly illegible signature, and it appears that the name 'Jose' was not written by Plaintiff. Defendants did not attempt to verbally explain (in English or Spanish) the contents of the documents.

The reply provides no evidence refuting Plaintiff's position. There is no declaration from a supervisor documenting that the contents and import of the arbitration agreement was explained to Plaintiff in Spanish. There is no declaration from a supervisor or co-worker with firsthand knowledge of Plaintiff's Calendar No.: Event ID:  TENTATIVE RULINGS

3047419  13 CASE NUMBER: CASE TITLE:  MERAZ VS BRIGHTVIEW LANDSCAPE DEVELOPMENT INC  37-2023-00039938-CU-OE-CTL ability to read or understand English, or somehow explaining how the supervisor could not know of his inability to understand English. Defendants have produced no other documents from Plaintiff's personnel file demonstrating his past ability to read and understand English language documents.

The agreement is unenforceable due to fraud in the execution and the motion is denied on this basis.

Given this ruling, the Court does not address Plaintiff's other contentions in opposition to this Motion.

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