Florida

Judge Torres Allows Nonsignatory To Enforce Arbitration Agreement

This is a pretty sweeping opinion from Magistrate Judge Torres on the enforceability of arbitration agreements.

Here he enforces it against a construction worker who never worked for the entity who is listed on the agreement, but instead for another company also owned by the same businessman:

Again, though we view the result in this case to be, in effect, a reformation of a contract based upon a unilateral mistake (which under traditional contract principles would not allow for reformation at law), arbitration agreements are widely and broadly enforced in the Eleventh Circuit. Equitable principles may be applied to enforce such an agreement against a signatory even though a writing technically does not exist with a non-signatory. This is such a case based upon existing Eleventh Circuit precedent. We have no choice but to apply it, leaving to our Court of Appeals to decide if the result in this case requires a change in direction.

Full post as published by South Florida Lawyers on February 11, 2010 (boomark / email).