California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Quiroz v. E.A. Renfroe & Co., C082316 (Cal. App. 2017):
"In a petition to compel arbitration, the party seeking to compel arbitration bears the burden of proving the existence of a valid arbitration agreement by a preponderance of the evidence. [Citation.] The party opposing the petition bears the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence any fact necessary to its defense, including that an
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arbitration provision is invalid or otherwise unenforceable." (Brinkley v. Monterey Financial Services, Inc. (2015) 242 Cal.App.4th 314, 325.)
Whether an arbitration provision is unenforceable because it is unconscionable is ultimately a question of law. (Higgins v. Superior Court (2006) 140 Cal.App.4th 1238, 1250.) "Where, as here, the trial court rules on the question of unconscionability based on declarations that contain no meaningful factual disputes, we review the trial court's ruling de novo." (Ibid.)
B. Unconscionability
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