The Appellate Court in Orange County has determined that the arbitration clause in CAR’s Independent Contractor Agreement (Form ICA) is invalid. CAR publishes contracts which are widely used in the Real Estate business in California. They publish an Independent Contractor Agreement, which is commonly used by brokers when employing salespeople. In this case, a salesperson sued Century 21 and its broker, claiming damages arising from alleged gender discrimination and sexual harassment. Century 21 filed a petition for arbitration of the dispute, citing the binding arbitration clause in the Independent Contractor Agreement, which was signed by both parties. However, the court held that the binding arbitration clause was procedurally and substantively unconscionable, leading to the inevitable conclusion it is unenforceable. In June, 2011, CAR published a
new version of this form which deleted the binding arbitration clause.
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