News Notes: Court Throws Out One-Sided Arbitration Agreement

When Municipal Resource Consultants (MRC) tried to compel former employee Nicholas O’Hare to arbitrate a wrongful discharge and age-bias lawsuit, O’Hare contended the mandatory arbitration provision he signed wasn’t fair. The agreement required him to arbitrate all claims against the company, while it permitted MRC to file a lawsuit against him for injunctive relief. A California Court of Appeal sided with O’Hare, ruling the entire agreement was unenforceable because it was too one-sided.