California Court of Appeal

In an action alleging hate crimes, defamation, public disclosure of private facts and various other claims, trial court judgment granting petition to confirm an arbitration award and denying the petition to vacate is reversed where: 1) plaintiff and his parents filed suit against a school, seeking remedies under the California hate crimes laws, and since hate crimes laws constitute unwaivable statutory rights comparable to antidiscrimination laws, neither the student nor his parents may be required to pay any type of arbitral expense that would not be imposed were the dispute adjudicated in court; and 2) hate crimes laws prohibit an award of fees to a prevailing defendant, and thus render the award of attorney's fees in the case invalid. On remand, the trial court must ensure that the arbitration award does not include any inappropriate arbitral expenses or any attorney's fees prohibited by hate crimes laws.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/14/2009
• Published 08/14/2009

Judges

• MALLANO, P.J.

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Robert S. Gerstein;  and Jennifer L. Lynch, for Plaintiffs and Appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Musick, Peeler & Garrett, Stuart W. Rudnick and Kent A. Halkett, Los Angeles, for Defendants and Respondents.