Judge: Jon R. Takasugi, Case: 24STCV20837, Date: 2025-04-03 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 24STCV20837    Hearing Date: April 3, 2025    Dept: 17

Superior Court of California

County of Los Angeles

DEPARTMENT 17

TENTATIVE RULING

Defendant’s motion to compel arbitration is GRANTED. This action is stayed pending the completion of arbitration.

            On 8/16/2024, Plaintiff CABI LLC (Plaintiff) filed suit against Cogs & Marvel USA, Inc. (Defendant), alleging: (1) fraud; (2) promissory fraud; (3) breach of contract; and (4) declaratory relief.

            On 2/3/2025, Defendant moved to compel arbitration, and stay this action.

            The motion is unopposed.

Legal Standard

Where the Court has determined that an agreement to arbitrate a controversy exists, the Court shall order the petitioner and the respondent to arbitrate the controversy …unless it determines that…  grounds exist for rescission of the agreement.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 1281.2.) Among the grounds which can support rescission are fraud, duress, and unconscionability. (Tiri v. Lucky Chances, Inc. (2014) 226 Cal.App.4th 231, 239.) The Court may also decline to compel arbitration wherein there is possibility of conflicting rulings on a common issue of law or fact. (Code Civ. Proc., § 1281.2 (c).)

Discussion

The party moving to compel arbitration “bears the burden of proving [the] existence [of an arbitration agreement] by a preponderance of the evidence.” (Rosenthal v. Great Western Fin. Securities Corp. (1996) 14 Cal.4th 394, 413.) The moving party also bears the burden of demonstrating that the claims fall within the scope of the arbitration agreement. (Omar v. Ralphs Grocery Co. (2004) 118 Cal.App.4th 955, 961.)

A.    Existing Agreement

Defendant submitted evidence that on 9/7/2023, Plaintiffs entered into a contract entitled “Event Agreement,” by which  Defendant agreed to provide event management and associated services in relation to Plaintiff’s fashion program scheduled to take place on 1/11/2024-1/13/2024.

The Agreement contained a section entitled "Dispute Resolution" which states:

Any unresolved controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement, except as (I) otherwise provided in this Agreement, or (ii) any such controversies or claims arising out of either party's intellectual property rights for which a provisional remedy or equitable relief is sought shall be submitted to arbitration by one arbitrator mutually agree upon by the parties, and if no agreement can be reached within thirty (30) days after names of potential arbitrators have been proposed by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") then by one arbitrator having reasonable experience in contracts for public event production services of the type provided for in this Agreement and who is chosen by the AAA.

(Ex. 1 – Plaintiff’s Complaint, Ex. A - para. 7.13).

The claims asserted here, which arise out of the underlying Agreement, fall within the scope of the arbitration provision.

Given that Defendant has established by a preponderance of the evidence that an arbitration agreement exists, and that Plaintiff’s claims are covered by that provision, the burden shifts to the Plaintiff to establish that the arbitration clause should not be enforced. (Pinnacle Museum Tower Assn. v. Pinnacle Market Development (US), LLC (2012) 55 Cal.4th 223, 236. (Pinnacle).)

II.               Plaintiff’s Burden 

The party opposing arbitration bears the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence any defense, such as unconscionability or duress. (Pinnacle, supra, 55 Cal.4th at p. 236.)

Here, Plaintiff did not oppose the motion. As such, it has not advanced any argument as to unenforceability and thus has failed to meet its burden to show that arbitration should not be enforced. (Ruiz v. Moss Bros. Auto Group (2014) 232 Cal.App.4th 836, 841-42.)

Based on the foregoing, Defendant’s motion to compel arbitration is granted. This action is stayed pending the completion of arbitration.

It is so ordered.

Dated:  April    , 2025

   Hon. Jon R. Takasugi
   Judge of the Superior Court

Parties who intend to submit on this tentative must send an email to the court at smcdept17@lacourt.org by 4 p.m. the day prior as directed by the instructions provided on the court website at www.lacourt.org.  If a party submits on the tentative, the party’s email must include the case number and must identify the party submitting on the tentative.  If all parties to a motion submit, the court will adopt this tentative as the final order.  If the department does not receive an email indicating the parties are submitting on the tentative and there are no appearances at the hearing, the motion may be placed off calendar.  For more information, please contact the court clerk at (213) 633-0517.