BIRCHTREE FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC., APPELLANT,
v.
JAMES L. LANCE; ETHEL H. LANCE; JAMES L. LANCE, TRUSTEE; AND ETHEL H. LANCE, TRUSTEE, APPELLEES
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PER CURIAM.
The Lances filed suit against the appellant and others, alleging, inter alia, that the defendants committed fraud in the sale of securities. The defendants moved to compel arbitration on the basis of arbitration agreements signed by the Lances. The Lances filed affidavits in opposition to the motions, claiming that they did not knowingly enter into any arbitration agreements and that the defendants never raised the subject of arbitration in negotiating the parties’ agreements.
At the October 26, 1988, hearing on the motions to compel arbitration, the trial court declined to hear evidence on the issue of arbitration and ruled, as a matter of law, that the agreements were unenforceable. We hold that the trial court erred in refusing to take evidence on the validity of the signed arbitration agreements. Where a question exists concerning the validity of an arbitration agreement, the trial court should hold a full evidentiary hearing to resolve the dispute. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. v. Falowski, 425 So. 2d 129 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982). We accordingly reverse and remand for an evidentiary hearing.
CAMPBELL, C.J., and RYDER and PATTERSON, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Kelly v. Azar, 568 So. 2d 97 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)…ration clause, the court erred in not holding an evidentiary hearing to determine the validity and scope of the arbitration agreements and to consider the customers’ claims of fraud in the factum. See Birchtree Financial Servs., [*99] Inc. v. Lance, 561 So. 2d 8 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990). We accordingly reverse and remand for an evidentiary hearing. . The arbitration clause provides in pertinent part: 9. Arbitration— It is understood that the following agreement to arbitrate does not constitute a waiver of the…
Authorities Cited
- Merrill Lynch v. James F. Falowski under the Last Will and Testament of John J. Falowski, 425 So. 2d 129 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982)