California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Gonzalez v. Metro Nissan of Redlands, E056160 (Cal. App. 2013):
"One pertinent exception is based on the doctrine of equitable estoppel. [Citations.] Under that doctrine, as applied in 'both federal and California decisional authority, a nonsignatory defendant may invoke an arbitration clause to compel a signatory plaintiff to arbitrate its claims when the causes of action against the nonsignatory are "intimately founded in and intertwined" with the underlying contract obligations.' [Citations.] 'By relying on contract terms in a claim against a nonsignatory defendant, even if not exclusively, a plaintiff may be equitably estopped from repudiating the arbitration clause contained in that agreement.' [Citations.]" (JSM Tuscany, LLC v. Superior Court (2011) 193 Cal.App.4th 1222, 1237.)12
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