This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

P purchased an automobile from Pena's Motors. He was greeted by one of this dealership's employees, who spoke with him in his native tongue (i.e., Spanish). Negotiations for this transaction were conducted primarily in Spanish. Pena's Motors and its employees had the authority to sell and make representations on behalf of D with respect to the sale of its GAP contracts covering automobiles. D eventually charged P money for a GAP contract to cover the vehicle he purchased. A copy of the GAP contract (‘Guaranteed Auto Protection-GAP Waiver’ form) was not provided to him in Spanish.” A GAP contract is an “optional insurance policy contract that is sold to or purchased by a consumer in conjunction with his or her purchase and financing of an automobile. The ‘GAP’ policy is used to pay the difference between the actual cash value of the financed automobile and the then-current outstanding balance on the loan for the automobile should the financed automobile be destroyed or ‘totaled’ in an accident.” P eventually sued D over the GAP contract. P asserted three causes of action based on D's failure to provide a translation of the GAP contract: (1) violation of the Consumers Legal Remedies Act, Civil Code section 1750 et seq.; (2) violation of section 1632; and (3) violation of the unfair competition law, Business and Professions Code section 17200 et seq. D moved to compel arbitration as per the English contract that was signed by P when he purchased his 2005 Ford Expedition from Pena's Motors in July 2011. The “Conditional Sale Contract and Security Agreement” was signed by P and a representative from Pena's Motors. The contract has a section heading highlighted in bold that states “Please Read Carefully! Notice of Arbitration.” This section of the contract contains the arbitration agreement that is the basis of D's motion; it purports to cover “any claim or dispute in contract, tort, statute or otherwise between you and us or our employees … that arises out of or relates to your credit application, this Contract or any related transaction or relationship.” The arbitration agreement ends by stating: “CAUTION: It is important that you read this Arbitration Agreement thoroughly before you sign this Contract. By signing it, you are saying that you have read and understand this Arbitration Agreement, and have received a copy of it. If you do not understand something in this Arbitration Agreement, do not sign this Contract; instead, ask your lawyer. You or we may reject this Arbitration Agreement by sending to the other a rejection notice by certified mail or by messenger service within 10 days after signing this Contract.” P stated in Spanish (which was translated for the court) that negotiations for this transaction were conducted primarily in Spanish. Arbitration and alternative dispute resolution never came up. The dealer provided me with a Spanish translation of a conditional sale contract; the Spanish copy of the contract was different than the English copy of the contract, which I was told to sign. The Spanish version of the sales contract does not have the ‘Arbitration’ clause. He never received a Spanish translation of the actual GAP contract or of any forms pertaining to GAP coverage. The trial court found that while he had received a Spanish translation of the English Contract, the translation he received did not contain an arbitration agreement. The trial court held that “by operation of … section 1632, … D has failed to establish the existence of an arbitration agreement enforceable against P.” D appealed.

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