GERALDINE E. WINTER, APPELLANT,
v.
ARVIDA CORPORATION, SABAL CHASE CONDOMINIUM II ASSOCIATION, INC. AND SABAL CHASE HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., APPELLEES

Fla. 3d DCA | 1981-10-13
No. 80-2056
Before SCHWARTZ, NESBITT and BASKIN, JJ.
404 So. 2d 829 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1981) Caution
Cited by 24 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

A homeowner sued Arvida for selling her a defective condominium with drainage problems. Arvida moved to compel arbitration based on an arbitration clause in the homeowner's warranty contract. The court reversed the lower court's order compelling arbitration, holding that Arvida waived its right to arbitrate by filing an answer, conducting discovery, and later serving interrogatories before moving to compel arbitration.


Holding

The court held that Arvida waived its right to arbitrate. A party waives the right to arbitrate by filing an answer without demanding arbitration and by subsequently taking actions inconsistent with that right, such as proceeding with discovery and serving interrogatories, even after knowledge of the arbitration clause exists.


Headnotes

[1] A party waives the right to compel arbitration by taking actions inconsistent with that right, such as filing an answer and proceeding with discovery before moving to com…

[2] Knowledge of an arbitration clause, whether actual or constructive, is a prerequisite for a party to assert its right to arbitrate.

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Key Quotes

“the filing of an answer to the complaint without demand for arbitration constituted a waiver of the right to arbitrate and was consent to submission of the controversy to the court”

Establishes the foundational rule that filing an answer without demanding arbitration waives the right to arbitrate

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Facts & Procedural History

Plaintiff Winter purchased a condominium from Arvida in November 1979 and filed a complaint alleging the unit was defective due to inadequate drainage…

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Opinion of the Court
NESBITT, Judge.

NESBITT, Judge.

The appellant, plaintiff below, appeals from an order granting defendant Arvida’s motion to compel arbitration and dismissing the plaintiff’s complaint without prejudice.

The plaintiff filed a complaint on November 21, 1979 alleging that a condominium which she purchased from Arvida was defective due to inadequate drainage capacity of the common ways. This allegedly caused her particular unit to be inundated with water. She claimed that Arvida knew or should have known of this prior to the sale of the condominium.1 A motion to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a cause of action was filed on behalf of Arvida on December 19, 1979, and said motion was denied on March 20, 1980. Before filing its answer, the defendant deposed the plaintiff and made an inquiry regarding the existence of a homeowner’s warranty contract for the unit. On April 21, 1980, Arvida filed its' answer including affirmative defenses and discovery continued. On August 5, 1980, Arvida filed a motion to dismiss alleging that the arbitration clause of the homeowner’s warranty precluded the instant suit. One week after the filing of this motion, Arvida served interrogatories upon the plaintiff. Subsequently, the lower court granted Arvida’s motion to dismiss without prejudice to plaintiff’s refiling of her complaint after she had pursued the remedies of conciliation and arbitration. Plaintiff appeals.

Due to the portion of the order which dismisses the complaint, we have jurisdiction to review the lower court’s order. Gries Investment Co. v. Chelton, 388 So. 2d 1281 (Fla.3d DCA 1980). We find that there was a waiver of the right to arbitrate and therefore we reverse.

It is Arvida’s contention that it did not knowingly give up its right to arbitrate. However, before an answer was filed, the defendant recognized the possibility that there was an agreement, as evidenced by the questions to the plaintiff at the deposition. Further, four months passed between the time the complaint was filed and the answer was received. There was certainly enough time for the defendant to act upon its suspicions that the agreement existed. The affidavits attached to the motion to dismiss show that the defendant’s knowledge came directly from its own salesperson and controller. Consequently, we find that Arvida knew or should have known of the existence of the homeowner’s warranty and of the arbitration clause.

In King v. Thompson & McKinnon, Auchincloss Kohlmeyer, Inc., 352 So. 2d 1235 (Fla.4th DCA 1977), the court held that the filing of an answer to the complaint without demand for arbitration constituted a waiver of the right to arbitrate and was consent to submission of the controversy to the court. In Ojus Industries, Inc. v. Mann, 221 So. 2d 780, 782 (Fla.3d DCA 1969), the court stated that “waiver in this connection does not depend on timing to compel arbitration (where not unreasonably delayed), but rather on the prior taking of an inconsistent position by the party moving therefor.” Action taken by the movant subsequent to the motion to compel arbitration was sufficient to constitute a waiver in Klosters Rederi A/S v. Arison Shipping Company, 280 So. 2d 678 (Fla.1973), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1131, 94 S.Ct. 869, 38 L.Ed.2d 755 (1974).

The defendant, having knowledge of the arbitration clause, filed an answer and proceeded with discovery before moving to dismiss for failure to arbitrate. After the motion was filed, the defendant continued to proceed with the lawsuit. Because these actions were inconsistent with the right to arbitrate, we find that there was a waiver by the defendant.2

For these reasons, the order compelling arbitration and dismissing the complaint is reversed and the cause remanded for further proceedings.

. Plaintiff also sued Sabal Chase Condominium II Association, Inc. and Sabal Chase Homeowners Association for negligence. Cross-claims were filed by Arvida and Sabal Chase. These claims are not at issue on this appeal.

. This decision makes it unnecessary to reach the question of whether, in the absence of a waiver, there was a right to arbitration before a lawsuit was filed.


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Citator

Cited By (12 total)

  • Rolls v. Bliss & Nyitray, Inc., 408 So. 2d 229 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)
    …taking of an inconsistent position, before the trial court. Under the circumstances, it was reasonable for the court to conclude that defendants had accepted the judicial forum and waived any contractual right to arbitration. Winter v. Arvida Corp., 404 So. 2d 829 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981); Lapidus v. Arlen Beach Condominium Ass’n, Inc., 394 So. 2d 1103 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981); Lyons v. Krathen, 368 So. 2d 906 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979), cert. denied, 378 So. 2d 346 (Fla.1979); Klosters Rederi A/S v. Arison Shipping Co., 280 So.…
  • Green Tree Servicing, LLC v. McLEOD, 15 So. 3d 682 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009)
    …71 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987); Rolls v. Bliss & Nyitray, Inc., 408 So. 2d 229, 237-38 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981), disapproval on other grounds recognized by La Pesca Grande Charters, Inc. v. Moran, 704 So. 2d 710, 713-14 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998); Winter v. Arvida Corp., 404 So. 2d 829, 830 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981). Thus existing precedent did not support the legal proposition adopted by the Merrill Lynch majority in 2001 when that case was decided. Since Merrill Lynch was decided, the Third District has adhered to its view of the matt…
  • Coral 97 Assocs., Ltd. v. Chino Elec., Inc., 501 So. 2d 69 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987)
    …DCA) (defendants waived arbitration right when they delayed in demanding arbitration until after cause had been set for trial, and counterclaimed and actively participated in discovery), dismissed, 415 So. 2d 1359 (Fla.1982); Winter v. Arvida Corp., 404 So. 2d 829 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981) (defendant, having filed answer and conducted discovery with knowledge of arbitration clause before filing motion to dismiss for failure to arbitrate and having proceeded with suit after filing motion to dismiss by continuing disc…

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