Cal. Supremes' Audiocasts Available

The Cal. Supreme Court website has a new feature, useful not only to law students but to any lawyer unfamiliar with supreme court practice. Audiocasts of oral argument are now available. Alas, so far only a handful of arguments have been put online. Click here for the link.

Cal. Supremes Grant Review In Another Arbitration Case

Just last week, the California Supreme Court granted review on an arbitration question that has been plaguing litigants for years. Who decides - trial court or arbitrator - if the arbitration claim is barred by the arbitration statute of limitations?

As framed in the Court's online Weekly Summaries, the issue is: when a party seeks to compel arbitration, may the trial court decide if a claim is barred by a statute of limitations, as part of determining whether the party waived the right to arbitrate under CCP § 1281.2(a), or is application of a statute of limitations always resolved by the arbitrator? Wagner Construction Co. v. Pacific Mechanical Corp., S136255, unpublished opinion, review granted 10/26/05.