Arbitration, Employment, Burden of Proof, Nonsignatories: Fourth District, Div. 1 Rules Employer Failed To Prove Employee Electronically Signed Arbitration Agreement

Authentication Of Electronic Signatures Continues To Generate Case Law And Stymie Employers.

    We have blogged before about the problems employers have had authenticating employees' electronic signatures on arbitration agreement. On January 4, 2015, we blogged about Ruiz v. Moss Bros. Auto Group, Inc., 232 Cal.App.4th 836 (2014), a leading case highlighting the pitfalls of electronic authentication, while at the same time providing a roadmap for proper authentication. 

    A California employer relying on DocuSign has once again tripped over the stumbling block of authenticating an electronic signature in an arbitration agreement. Fabian v. Renovate America, Inc., D075519 (4/3  12/4/19) (Irion, Haller, O'Rourke). First, the  electronic document with the employee's initials was not self-authenticating. Here, the employer "did not provide any evidence from or about DocuSign in its petition, reply, or supplemental declaration." As to the employer's declaration, the employer "did not suggest how the electronic signature could only have been placed on the Contract" by the employee. The employer failed to provide "any specific details about the circumstances surrounding the Contract's execution." The employer failed to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the employee electronically signed the Contract. The Devil is in the details.

Devils - a fresco detail from the Rila Monastery, Bulgaria. Wikipedia. Author: Edal Anton Lefterov.

    Comment: If you want a roadmap for authenticating an electronic signature, read the Ruiz case, supra.