Sorokunov v. NetApp:

Horst Legal CounselEmployment Law, Uncategorized

An Employer’s Arbitration Win on Individual Claims Can Extinguish PAGA Standing Horst Legal Counsel | March 2026   Your company compels an employee’s individual wage claims to arbitration, wins on every issue, and confirms the award. But the employee also has a PAGA claim pending in court, seeking civil penalties on behalf of the state and hundreds of other workers. …

Proposition 65 Notice Defects No Longer Automatic Case-Killers:

Horst Legal CounselCalifornia Regulatory Law, Consumer Product Litigation, Proposition 65

Environmental Health Advocates v. Pancho Villa’s Horst Legal Counsel | February 2026 California businesses that sell consumer products know the rhythm: a Proposition 65 notice arrives, the 60-day clock starts, and the company has to decide whether to settle, fix the alleged exposure, or prepare for litigation. For years, defendants have fought back by scrutinizing every line of the pre-suit …

Grant v. Chapman University:

Horst Legal CounselAppellate Law, Business Litigation

Marketing “Face-to-Face” Experience Does Not Create Enforceable Contract for In-Person Classes When operations get disrupted, customers look for refunds. Students are no different. During COVID-era campus closures, many sued universities for tuition back based on an “implied promise” of in-person education. This California Court of Appeal just rejected this effort in a case involving Chapman University, finding that Chapman had …

Fuentes v. Empire Nissan: California Arbitration Agreement Enforceability Turns on Readability and Ordinary Contract Rules

Horst Legal CounselADR, Arbitration, Employment Law

California arbitration enforceability fights are increasingly won or lost on something that sounds almost too basic to matter: could the employee reasonably read what they were asked to sign, and do the surrounding circumstances show meaningful assent? Fuentes v. Empire Nissan, Inc. is the Supreme Court’s clearest reminder that formatting and onboarding process are not side issues—they can shape the …

When State Law Caps Penalties, Cities Can’t Add “Impoundment” as a Workaround: Mustaqeem v. City of San Diego

Horst Legal CounselAppellate Law, Municipal Law

California’s sidewalk vending statutes reflect a legislative tradeoff: local governments may regulate through objective health and safety rules, but enforcement is meant to stay within a deliberately narrow set of tools. Mustaqeem v. City of San Diego underscores what that bargain looks like in litigation. The decision is less about sidewalk vending in isolation and more about a familiar public-law …