ANDERSON-PARRISH ASSOCIATES, INC., APPELLANT,
v.
CITY OF ST. PETERSBURG BEACH, FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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.
Anderson-Parrish Associates sought to compel arbitration of a third-party complaint filed against it by the City of St. Petersburg Beach, based on an arbitration clause in their architectural services contract. The trial court denied the motion to compel arbitration, but the appellate court reversed, holding that where no substantial issue exists regarding the making of an arbitration agreement, a party has a statutory right to arbitrate and the trial court errs in denying that right.
The trial court erred in denying the motion to compel arbitration. Where no substantial issue exists regarding the making of an arbitration agreement containing a compulsory arbitration provision, it is error for the trial court to deny a party the right to arbitrate and require the dispute be litigated in court.
[1] An order denying a motion to compel arbitration is an appealable nonfinal order.
[2] A trial court must grant a motion to compel arbitration when no substantial issue exists as to the making of the arbitration agreement.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“If the court is satisfied that no substantial issue exists as to the making of the agreement [for arbitration] it shall grant the application.”
Statement of the controlling statutory standard under Florida Arbitration Code section 682.03 requiring courts to compel arbitration when the arbitration agreement is valid and undisputed.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceWardell & Sons Construction Company sued the City of St. Petersburg Beach for breach of a construction contract to build a fire station. The city coun…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Breach Of Construction Contract cases and more on FLexlaw
SCHEB, Judge.
Anderson-Parrish Associates, Inc., seeks a writ of common law certiorari to review the trial court’s order of January 22, 1985, denying its motion to compel arbitration under the terms of its agreement with the City of St. Petersburg Beach. We treat the court’s order as an appealable nonfinal order, pursuant to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130(a)(3)(C)(v), as amended January 1, 1985, and reverse.
Wardell & Sons Construction Company sued the city for breach of a construction contract wherein it agreed to build a fire .station for the city. The city counterclaimed and later filed a third-party complaint against Anderson-Parrish, its architectural firm, alleging that it failed to properly design and supervise construction of the fire station.
Anderson-Parrish moved to compel arbitration based on a clause in its contract with the city, which stated:
All claims, disputes and other matters in question between the parties to this Agreement, arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the breach thereof, shall be decided by arbitration in accordance with the Construction Industry Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association then obtaining unless the parties mutually agree otherwise_
(Emphasis added.) The trial court denied the motion.1 Anderson-Parrish claims the court erred, because the city’s third-party complaint was based on its contract, which included the compulsory arbitration provision. Therefore, it had a statutory right to arbitrate. We agree.
The Florida Arbitration Code, section 682.03, Florida Statutes (1983), provides:
... If the court is satisfied that no substantial issue exists as to the making of the agreement [for arbitration] it shall grant the application....
(Emphasis added.)
The city argues that its third-party complaint is not based on its contract with Anderson-Parrish. Rather, the city points out that its third-party complaint sounds only in indemnification, and that the dispute here involves the city’s right merely to recover against the architectural firm for damages which it may be required to pay to Wardell, its contractor. Our examination of the complaint, however, does not support the city’s position. While indemnity is mentioned in the complaint, the city nevertheless makes direct allegations that Anderson-Parrish’s failure to properly design and supervise construction pursuant to its contract has caused the city to employ another contractor and incur additional expenses.2
Where, as here, there is no issue as to the making’of an agreement which contains a provision for compulsory arbitration, it is error for the trial court to deny a party the right to arbitrate and require that the dispute be litigated in court. Riverfront Properties, Ltd. v. Max Factor III, 460 So. 2d 948 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984); Payne, Webber, Jackson & Curtis, Inc. v. Lucas, 411 So. 2d 1369 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982).
We reverse the order denying the motion to arbitrate and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
GRIMES, A.C.J., and FRANK, J., concur. . In the meantime, the dispute between the contractor and the city came on for trial and resulted in a $74,516.99 judgment for the contractor. . All of the architects' services concerning the fire station were performed for the city pursuant to a contract which included the quoted provision for arbitration of disputes. The allegations of the third-party complaint applicable to indemnification are predicated on the theory of faulty service. Therefore, it is possible that the architects may be entitled to arbitration even if the third-party complaint was limited to indemnity. Nevertheless, we need not, and we do not, reach this issue.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Lake Plumbing, Inc. v. Seabreeze Constr. Corp., 493 So. 2d 1100 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986)…e believe the matter below was destined for arbitration; nonetheless, it has taken our opinion to direct this matter to its proper forum. Turning to the law of the district, we find guidance in Anderson-Parrish Associates v. City of St. Petersburg, 468 So. 2d 507 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985). In Anderson-Parrish, a general contractor sued the city for breach of a construction contract to build a fire station. The city counterclaimed and filed a third-party complaint against Anderson-Parrish, the architect, alleging it…
-
Ramon Pacheco & Assoc., Inc. v. Betancourt Castellon Assoc., Inc., 820 So. 2d 948 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002)…anship of the architectural designs and plans, the indemnity claim relates to the contract from which Pacheco’s duty and obligation to provide adequate plans [*952] arise.1 We find that Anderson-Parrish Assoc., Inc. v. City of St. Petersburg Beach, 468 So. 2d 507 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985) is more analogous to the case at bar. In Anderson-Parrish, the city brought a third-party claim against the architects involved with one of the city projects after the general contractor filed suit against the city. The third-part…
Authorities Cited
- Paine v. Lucas, 411 So. 2d 1369 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982)
- Riverfront Props., Ltd. v. Factor, 460 So. 2d 948 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984)