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Financial Services Law Insights and Observations

California Appeals Court Holds Brokerage Agreement Sufficiently Incorporated Arbitration Provision

Arbitration

Securities

On June 21, the California Second District Court of Appeal held that a defendant brokerage firm had established an agreement to arbitrate, where the brokerage account application signed by the plaintiffs incorporated by reference certain arbitration provisions of a separate client agreement.  Rodriguez v. Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., No. B230310, 2012 WL 2354637 (Cal. Ct. App. June 21, 2012). The appeals court observed that the plaintiffs had signed an account application that explicitly stated that any signatories had also agreed to all terms of a separate client agreement. Another paragraph of the same application, located directly above the signature lines, included an express acknowledgement that the client agreement included an arbitration provision. The court rejected several arguments proffered by the plaintiffs, including that (i) the references to the arbitration provision were unreadable, (ii) the plaintiffs had never received the client agreement containing the arbitration provision, (iii) the client agreement itself was not signed, and (iv) the client agreement was confusing.