Arbitration & Mediation

Florida Supreme Court Declines Jurisdiction to Resolve Possible 1st and 4th DCA Conflict Regarding Signor's Authority

By Christopher B. Hopkins, Esq.

There are certainly any number of brewing conflicts in Florida arbitration law including standards for waiver; authority of signor; existence of and standards for a public policy test; whether a sliding scale analysis is appropriate to determine unconscionability; whether enforcement is for arbitrator to decide; and whether a health care surrogate or proxy has authority to bind a patient to arbitration.

The Florida Supreme Court had an opportunity to resolve a potential conflict but found there was no jurisdiction. Apparently the alleged conflict -- suggested by the plaintiff-appellant -- was not direct and express enough for the High Court.

We previously discussed Alterra Healthcare v. Estate of Linton where the First DCA issued a broad opinion on a number of arbitration issues, including a quick ruling that the son's signature on his mother's admission agreement to an ALF was binding on the mother/resident because she was an intended third party beneficiary. Of note, this was a starting place of the opinion and, in so finding, the court cited no authority or really detailed that argument.

The Estate then took that issue to the Florida Supreme Court, arguing that such a ruling was in conflict with Blankfeld v. Richmond Health, where the Fourth DCA found, in a scathing opinion against nursing home arbitration provisions, that a nursing home admission agreement signed by an adult son for his senile parent/resident was not enforceable under health care proxy or surrogate statutes. The Blankfeld opinion does not mention third party beneficiaries. Of note, anti-arbitration plaintiffs certainly have undertaken efforts to propogate Blankfeld and there will continue to be trips to the Florida Supreme Court in an effort to get the Court to approve the anti-arbitration sentiment in that case. But Linton will not be that vehicle.

The Supreme Court accepted briefs over the summer in Linton but held there was no jurisdiction on September 24. You can view the docket here, after you type in "922" into the box.

As it stands, in the face of a question over the signor's authority when the true party-in-interest does not execute the arbitration agreement, the third party beneficiary argument may be the best argument, depending on the facts of the case.

Full post as published by Florida Arbitration Law on November 21, 2007 (boomark / email).