Case Was Governed By State Law Rather Than The Federal Arbitration Act.
The defendant landlord in Keisa Williams et al. v. 3620 W. 102nd Street, Inc., et al., B297824 (2/8 8/24/20) (Wiley, Grimes Stratton), did not discharge the burden of establishing that the residential lease at issue involved interstate commerce, and hence California state law, rather than the FAA, was applied here. And under California law, an arbitration clause in a residential lease is void. Cal. Civ. Code section 1153(a)(4); Jaramillo v. JH Real Estate Partners, Inc., 111 Cal.App.4th 394 (2003).
COMMENT: We note that in this age of legal specialization, the plaintiffs' attorneys have found a niche practice. Their business name is MYBEDBUGLAWYER. Their trademarked war cry is, "When bed bugs start biting . . . We start fighting! "Wikipedia has an interesting article on bed bugs, with some photos of nasty looking bed bugs, and the cute 19th century advertisement for cockroach and bed bug exterminators reproduced below.
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