The Michael Jackson’s Estate responded to HBO’s motion for dismissal on August 29..
In the opposition memorandum, the Michael Jackson Estate stresses that its petition turns exclusively “an issue of federal law under the Federal Arbitration Act” and as such, this court has no business applying California’s SLAPP law to whether or not HBO goes to arbitration. Recent Supreme Court rulings how states can’t create “procedural or substantive” obstacles to enforcement of arbitration agreements gets attention. And the Michael Jackson Estate reminds the judge of the modest chore before him.
The petition, states plaintiff, “arises out of HBO’s refusal to arbitrate. Breaching an agreement by refusing to arbitrate is not constitutionally protected activity. And even if it were, the Jackson Estate has shown a probability of success on that claim, as the Court explained in detail in its tentative order (where it definitively rejected all of HBO’s arguments against arbitration). If the Jackson Estate’s claims to be arbitrated are as frivolous as HBO would have the Court believe, it should have no reason for concern.”
California’s SLAPP law provides an automatic right to an immediate appeal. Meaning, no matter what Wu decides, there’s a pretty good chance that the case goes up to the 9th Circuit and maybe eventually the Supreme Court before the two sides would actually settle in for the prospective “open” arbitration.
Hearing on September 19.
Here the Estate’s response:
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