Public Justice Statement on Passage of Senate Bill 365
Today, in response to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s approval of Senate Bill 365, Public Justice released the following statement:
“Public Justice commends Governor Gavin Newsom for signing Senate Bill 365, which will prevent needless delays for Californians seeking justice.
Authored by Senator Scott Wiener and co-authored by Attorney General Rob Bonta, SB 365 will end automatic stays of court proceedings when defendants appeal a decision to deny their motion to compel arbitration. Instead, courts will have the discretion to decide if a case should continue to move forward while the appeal is pending.
Most consumers and workers are subjected to arbitration clauses, buried in the fine print of take-it-or-leave-it contracts, though courts can deny corporate defendants’ motions to compel arbitration if the clauses are unenforceable. But if a defendant appealed that motion, the entire case would automatically be put on hold while the appeal was pending, creating another arbitration-related barrier to justice.
Justice delayed is justice denied, and defendants could create significant delays with an appeal – no matter how frivolous.
SB 365 will allow courts to decide when to stay a case pending the appeal, a commonsense approach that ensures court proceedings are well-matched to their circumstances. We applaud Senator Wiener, Attorney General Bonta, and Governor Newsom for removing this unnecessary delay and protecting Californians’ access to justice.”
