Petition for Review filed in Judicial Reference Case

Not surprisingly, the losing party in Treo@Kettner Homeowners Association v. Superior Court, has filed a petition for review in the California Supreme Court. In the petition (available here), filed by Charles Bird of the Luce Forward firm, the developer claims that the Court of Appeal decision refusing to enforce judicial reference provisions in CC&Rs squarely conflicts with Villa Milano Homeowners Association v. Il Davorge, 84 Cal. App. 4th 819 (2000), where the court enforced an arbitration provision in CC&Rs. (The Court of Appeal decision was discussed in a prior post, available here.) The petition surely seems right in stating that the same rules should govern enforceability of arbitration provisions and agreements for judicial reference; both provide valid methods of waiving a jury trial under Grafton Partners v. Superior Court, 36 Cal. 4th 944 (2005), since both have been approved by the Legislature. It also seems right in contending that the Court of Appeal decision presents an important issue of law--i.e., whether dispute resolution provisions in CC&Rs are valid as against non-signatories. It will be interesting to see what the Answer says in response. Stay tuned. (And thanks to Charles Bird for sending me the petition.)