Fabian v. Renovate America, Inc.

42 Cal. App. 5th 1062 (2019)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

P filed a complaint against D alleging that the solar panels she purchased for her home were improperly installed. D had made an unsolicited telephone [call to P's home about financing the solar panels and “signed” her name on a financial agreement. All communications between P and D occurred telephonically and she was never presented with any documents to sign. P claims she did not sign a financial agreement with D. Nevertheless, D incorporated the solar panel payments set forth in the financial agreement into her mortgage loan payments. P filed a petition to compel arbitration supported by a contract that D claimed P had signed electronically. D claimed the contract was entered into on February 28, 2017, and included an arbitration agreement. The last paragraph of the arbitration agreement states: “By initialing below, the Property Owner acknowledges and agrees to the terms set forth in Sections 4 [Existing Mortgage Disclosure], 12 [Waivers, Acknowledgments and Contract] and 13 [Arbitration Agreement] above.” The letters “DS” and the printed electronic initials “RF” appear in a box at the end of the arbitration agreement. The last paragraph of the Contract states: “IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Authority and the Property Owner have caused this Contract to be executed in their respective names by their duly authorized representatives, all as of the Effective Date. The ‘Effective Date’ is defined as the last date entered with signatures of the parties below.” The words “DocuSigned by:” and the printed electronic signature “Rosa Fabian” appear in a signature box at the end of the Contract. The date “2/28/2017,” a 15-digit alphanumeric character, and the words “Identity Verification Code: ID Verification Complete” also appear in the signature box. Mike Anderson, D's Senior Director of Compliance Operations, asserted that P “entered into” the Contract on February 28, 2017, to finance the installation of a solar energy system. P stated in a declaration that D solicited her by telephone and “placed” her into a financial agreement for an already-installed solar energy system on her home. P asserted that she only discussed financing with D telephonically. D provided her with no documents to sign, she did not sign the Contract physically or electronically, and what purports to be her electronic signature was “placed” on the Contract without her consent, authorization, or knowledge. In discovery, Anderson “testified that neither he nor any employee of D was present when the alleged agreement was electronically ‘docusigned’” and that D's “belief P electronically signed the subject agreement is not based on first-hand knowledge.” D claims “that records confirmed the witness' location when she signed the contract.” The trial court held that D failed to establish that P electronically signed the contract. D appealed.