Berg v. Traylor
California Court of Appeal
56 Cal. Rptr. 3d 140 (2007)
Meshiel Traylor and her 10-year-old son Craig (defendants) signed a three-year talent-management contract with Sharyn Berg (plaintiff) that expressly stated Craig's disaffirmance would not release Meshiel from its terms; Craig later landed a recurring role on a television show, but Meshiel sent a letter purporting to terminate the agreement. Berg won a large arbitration award against the Traylors after Meshiel appeared without a lawyer and without Craig, who had no guardian ad litem; the Traylors then sought to vacate the award, invoking Craig's right as a minor to disaffirm the contract, and the trial court ruled for Berg, finding the Traylors' petition untimely. The Traylors appealed.
Whether a minor's disaffirmance of a management contract, and of the arbitration conducted under it, also releases the minor's adult co-signing parent from the contract's obligations.