Superior Court San Diego County

Procedural Posture

Appellant builders sought review of an order from the Superior Court of San Diego County (California), which denied their motion to compel arbitration and stay construction defect litigation brought by respondent homeowners.

Overview: california civil jury instructions caci

The homeowners signed applications for new home warranties acknowledging that they had viewed a video, read a sample copy of the warranty booklet, and consented to a binding arbitration provision. In support of their motion to compel arbitration, the builders did not produce a copy of either the video or the sample warranty booklet referred to in the application, although they did produce subsequently issued warranty booklets. The reviewing court concluded that the terms of arbitration to which the homeowners supposedly agreed could not be determined because the applications did not incorporate by reference the terms of arbitration clauses included in the subsequently issued warranty booklets. The court could not infer that the subsequently issued warranty booklets were identical to the sample warranty booklet referred to in the applications. Thus, the builders failed to prove the existence of an arbitration contract and the homeowners' waiver of their right to a jury trial. Under both the Federal Arbitration Act and the California Arbitration Act, Code Civ. Proc., § 1280 et seq., arbitration could not be compelled absent proof of an arbitration agreement.

Outcome

The court affirmed the trial court's order.