MARTHA A. GOTTFRIED, INC., APPELLANT,
v.
PAULETTE KOCH REAL ESTATE, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, PAULETTE KOCH, PAUL J. KOZLOFF, PAUL J. KOZLOFF, TRUSTEE OF THE BANYAN ROAD REVOCABLE TRUST, AND JOHN DOE AND JANE DOE, APPELLEES
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Non-signatories can be bound by arbitration agreements if dictated by ordinary principles of contract law and agency, and a third-party beneficiary can be compelled to arbitrate.
Martha Gottfried, Inc. (Gottfried) appealed a non-final order compelling arbitration in a dispute with Paulette Koch Real Estate, Inc. over a real est…
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PER CURIAM.
Martha Gottfried, Inc. (Gottfried) appeals a non-final order compelling arbitra tion in its dispute with Paulette Koch Real Estate, Inc. over a real estate commission. We affirm.
Gottfried contends that it has not agreed to arbitrate this dispute and should not be bound by the agreement of its broker, Pamela Hoffpauer, to submit the claim to arbitration by virtue of her application for membership with the Palm Beach Board of Realtors.
Arbitration is a preferred method of dispute resolution; therefore, any doubt regarding the scope of an arbitration clause should be resolved in favor of arbitration. See Roe v. Arnica Mutual Ins. Co., 533 So. 2d 279 (Fla.1988); Nestler-Poletto Realty, Inc. v. Kassin, 730 So. 2d 324, 326 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999); Ronbeck Constr. Co. v. Savanna Club Corp., 592 So. 2d 344 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992).
Non-signatories may be bound by an arbitration agreement if dictated by ordinary principles of contract law and agency. See, e .g., Thomson-CSF, S.A. v. American Arbitration Ass’n, 64 F. 3d 773, 776 (2d Cir.1995). Furthermore, a third party beneficiary to a contract can be compelled to arbitrate. See Terminix Int’l Co. LP v. Ponzio, 693 So. 2d 104 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997)(citing Raffa Assocs., Inc. v. Boca Raton Resort & Club, 616 So. 2d 1096 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993)); Zac Smith & Co., Inc. v. Moonspinner Condo. Ass’n, 472 So. 2d 1324 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985). Therefore, Gottfried, while not a signatory to Hoff-pauer’s application for membership with the Palm Beach Board of Realtors, is, nevertheless, bound by her agreement to arbitrate, as having accepted the economic and professional benefits of Hoffpauer’s membership with the board. See, e.g., Proodian v. Plymouth Citrus Growers, Ass’n, 152 Fla. 684, 13 So. 2d 15 (1943); C.Q. Farms, Inc. v. Cargill, Inc., 363 So. 2d 379 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978).
Accordingly, we affirm as to this and as to all other issues raised in this appeal.
STONE, POLEN, and GROSS, JJ„ concur.
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Mendez v. Hampton Court Nursing Ctr., LLC, 203 So. 3d 146 (Fla. 2016)…h District also recognizes that “ordinarily a third-party beneficiary of a contract is bound by an arbitration clause in that contract.” Raffa Assocs., 616 So. 2d at 1097; [*156] see also Martha A. Gottfried, Inc. v. Paulette Koch Real Estate, Inc., 778 So. 2d 1089, 1090 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001) (“[A] third party beneficiary to a contract can be compelled to arbitrate.”). Further, the Second District recently held, in Pulte Home Corp. v. Bay at Cypress Creek Homeowners’ Ass’n, Inc., 118 So. 3d 957, 958 (Fla. 2d DCA…
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Stalley v. Transitional Hosps. Corp. OF Tampa, Inc., 44 So. 3d 627 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010)…rized to act as the agent of the person sought to be bound, and “[n]on-signatories may be bound by an arbitration agreement if dictated by ordinary principles of contract law and agency.” Martha A. Gottfried, Inc. v. Paulette Koch Real Estate, Inc., 778 So. 2d 1089, 1090 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001). An agency relationship can arise by written consent, oral consent, or by implication from the conduct of the parties. See Thomkin Corp. v. Miller, 156 Fla. 388, 24 So. 2d 48, 49 (1945). An agency by implication, or appare…
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Alterra Healthcare Corp. & Deanne M. Smith as to Alterra Sterling House of Tallahassee v. The Est. OF Jeanette Kelley Linton, 953 So. 2d 574 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007)…t case. A nonsig-natory third-party beneficiary is bound by the terms of a contract containing an arbitration clause. See Germann v. Age Inst. of Fla., Inc., 912 So. 2d 590, 592 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005); Gottfried, Inc. v. Paulette Koch Real Estate, Inc., 778 So. 2d 1089, 1090 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001); Terminix Int’l Co., LP v. Ponzio, 693 So. 2d 104, 109 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997); Zac Smith & Co., Inc. v. Moonspinner Condo. Ass’n, Inc., 472 So. 2d 1324,1324-25 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985). We further affirm the severance of the limit…
Previewing 3 of 17 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Ronbeck Constr. Co., Inc. v. Savanna Club Corp. & Savanna Club Realty Inc., 592 So. 2d 344 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992)
- ROE v. AMICA Mut. Ins. Co., 533 So. 2d 279 (Fla. 1988)
- Terminix Int'l Co., LP v. Ponzio, 693 So. 2d 104 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997)
- ZAC Smith & Co., Inc. v. Moonspinner Condo. Ass'n, Inc., 472 So. 2d 1324 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985)
- Nestler-Poletto Realty, Inc. v. Kenneth and Gloria Kassin, 730 So. 2d 324 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)
- C. Q. Farms, Inc. v. Cargill Inc., 363 So. 2d 379 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978)
- Proodian v. Plymouth Citrus Growers Ass'n, 152 Fla. 684 (Fla. 1943)
- Raffa Assocs., Inc. v. Boca Raton Resort & Club, 616 So. 2d 1096 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993)