SWAB Financial v. E*Trade Securities (150 Cal. App. 4th 1181, 2007)

Opinion

TURNER, P. J.

I. INTRODUCTION

Defendant, E*Trade Securities, LLC, appeals from an order vacating an arbitration award against plaintiff, SWAB Financial, LLC. The trial court found plaintiff’s rights were substantially prejudiced by the National Association of Securities Dealers arbitrators’ failure to postpone the arbitration hearing upon sufficient cause being shown. We conclude the arbitrators did not abuse their discretion in refusing to continue the arbitration hearing. Accordingly, we reverse the order vacating the arbitration award.

II. BACKGROUND

A. Arbitration Agreement

Defendant is a registered securities broker-dealer and a member of the National Association of Securities Dealers. Plaintiff opened a securities brokerage account with defendant on March 21, 2001. Plaintiff’s brokerage account was governed by a customer agreement. The March 21, 2001 customer agreement provided for arbitration of disputes: “31. a. Arbitration Disclosures. The following is a required disclosure for all brokerage agreements containing a pre-dispute arbitration provision: [ft] (1) Arbitration is final and binding on the parties, [ft] (2) The parties are waiving their right to seek remedies in court, including the right to jury trial, [ft] (3) Pre-arbitration discovery is generally more limited than and different from court proceedings. [ft] (4) The arbitrator’s award is not required to include factual findings or legal reasoning and any party’s right to appeal or to seek modification of rulings by the arbitrators is strictly limited. [