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Medident Construction v. Chappell

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District
Feb 15, 1994
632 So. 2d 194 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1994)

Summary

holding that courts should resolve attacks "exclusively directed toward the arbitration clause or a separate agreement to arbitrate"

Summary of this case from Caseres v. Tex. De Brazil (Orlando) Corp.

Opinion

No. 93-1774.

February 15, 1994.

Appeal from the Circuit Court for Dade County, Thomas S. Wilson, J.

Fowler, White, Burnett, Hurley, Banick Strickroot and William R. Clayton and Richard E. Douglas, Miami, for appellant.

Horace E. Hill, Sr., Daytona Beach, for appellee.

Before NESBITT, COPE and LEVY, JJ.


Medident Construction, Inc. appeals a non-final order denying its motion to compel arbitration and to stay state court action. We reverse.

This dispute arose out of a construction contract entered into between Pamela Chappell, the homeowner, and Medident Construction. The contract contained an arbitration clause providing that all disputes between the parties would be submitted to arbitration before the American Arbitration Association. Chappell filed a complaint against Medident, seeking a declaration of the parties' rights under the contract, compensatory and punitive damages, and fees pursuant to the contract.

The issue on appeal is whether the initial validity of the contract as a whole is to be decided by the trial court or by arbitration pursuant to the arbitration clause contained in that contract. Where fraud or some other ground for avoidance or invalidity of contract is alleged as to an entire agreement rather than specifically as to the arbitration clause contained within that agreement, the entire matter should be resolved by arbitration. Manning v. Interfuture Trading, Inc., 578 So.2d 842 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991); Ronbeck Construction Co. v. Savanna Club Corp., 592 So.2d 344 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992); Beaver Coaches v. Revels Nationwide R.V. Sales, Inc., 543 So.2d 359 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989). Only if the attack is specifically and exclusively directed toward the arbitration clause or a separate agreement to arbitrate may the court try the issue before submitting the balance of the dispute to arbitration. Manning, 578 So.2d at 843. In the instant case, the appellee has not specifically attacked the validity of the arbitration clause itself. Rather, all of the appellee's allegations and contentions go to the contract as a whole. As the court in Ronbeck recognized, the arbitration provision in a contract is separate from the rest of the contract, and must itself be specifically attacked on some appropriate ground. Ronbeck Construction Co., 592 So.2d at 347; R.B.F. Management Co. v. Sunshine Towers Apartment Residences Ass'n, Inc., 352 So.2d 561, 564 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977). The relief appellee seeks falls within the scope of the arbitration clause and should be submitted to arbitration. We reverse the non-final order under review and remand the cause to the trial court with directions to allow arbitration and stay state court proceedings during the pendency of dispute resolution by arbitration.

Reversed and remanded.


Summaries of

Medident Construction v. Chappell

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District
Feb 15, 1994
632 So. 2d 194 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1994)

holding that courts should resolve attacks "exclusively directed toward the arbitration clause or a separate agreement to arbitrate"

Summary of this case from Caseres v. Tex. De Brazil (Orlando) Corp.

referring to arbitration dispute arising from a construction contract with a provision that "all disputes between the parties" would be submitted to arbitration

Summary of this case from Simply Fit of North America, Inc. v. Poyner

In Medident Construction, Inc. v. Chappell, 632 So.2d 194 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994), the court applied state law, but followed the Prima Paint ruling.

Summary of this case from Beazer Homes Corp. v. Bailey

stating that "[w]here fraud or . . . invalidity of contract is alleged as to an entire agreement rather than specifically as to the arbitration clause contained within that agreement, the entire matter should be resolved by arbitration."

Summary of this case from Teichner v. Concorde Trading Group
Case details for

Medident Construction v. Chappell

Case Details

Full title:MEDIDENT CONSTRUCTION, INC., APPELLANT, v. PAMELA CHAPPELL, APPELLEE

Court:District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District

Date published: Feb 15, 1994

Citations

632 So. 2d 194 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1994)

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