JOYCE PERRY O/B/O ELIZABETH PERRY, APPELLANT,
v.
SOVEREIGN HEALTHCARE OF METRO WEST, ETC., ET AL., APPELLEE

Fla. 5th DCA | 2012-10-12
No. 5D11-1649
SAWAYA and TORPY, JJ., concur.
100 So. 3d 146 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (2012) Negative Treatment
Cited by 11 cases

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Holding

The court held that the lower court erred in compelling arbitration because no valid arbitration agreement existed between the resident and the facility, and the resident was not a third-party beneficiary of the agreement.


Headnotes

[1] A party seeking to compel arbitration must demonstrate the existence of a valid arbitration agreement.

[2] An arbitration agreement is not enforceable against a resident of a healthcare facility when the resident did not sign the agreement and no one signed on the resident's b…

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Facts & Procedural History

A resident's daughter signed a residency agreement containing an arbitration provision on her mother's behalf, but the mother was competent and did no…

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Opinion of the Court
JACOBUS, J.

JACOBUS, J.

Joyce Perry o/b/o Elizabeth Perry (“Appellant”) appeals the non-final order granting a motion to compel binding arbitration and a stay of proceedings by Ap-pellee, Sovereign Healthcare Metro West, LLC, d/b/a Metro West Nursing Home and Rehab Center (“the Facility”). Appellant contends the lower court erred in: (1) granting the motion because no valid arbitration agreement existed between Elizabeth Perry and the Facility; and (2) finding Elizabeth Perry was a third-party beneficiary of the arbitration agreement. We agree with Appellant’s contentions and reverse.

Elizabeth Perry was a resident of the Facility from November 2004 through October 2009. At the time of Elizabeth Perry’s admission to the Facility, her daughter, Bertha L. Johnson, signed a residency agreement that contained an arbitration provision. In 2010, Joyce Perry, another daughter of Elizabeth Perry, filed suit on her behalf against Appellee, alleging, among other things, that the Facility deprived Elizabeth Perry of her nursing home rights. Appellee filed a motion to compel binding arbitration and to stay the proceedings based upon the contractual *147terms of the residency agreement. Appellant contends there was no valid agreement because Johnson had no authority to sign the agreement on Elizabeth Perrry’s behalf. At the time of her admission to the nursing home facility, Elizabeth Perry was competent and her mental faculties were not impaired in any way. The trial court agreed with Appellee and found Elizabeth Perry was a third-party beneficiary to the residency agreement and that the arbitration agreement was enforceable.

On appeal, Appellant relies on In re Estate of McKibbin, 977 So.2d 612 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008), whereas Appellee relies on Alterra Healthcare Corp. v. Estate of Linton ex rel. Graham, 953 So.2d 574 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007). In Estate of McKibbin, the son of the resident signed a residency agreement, under a durable power of attorney on behalf of his mother. 977 So.2d at 613. The agreement contained an arbitration provision. Id. After the son filed suit against the healthcare facility, the facility filed a motion to compel arbitration. Id. The lower court granted that motion. Id. On appeal, the Second District found the power of attorney did not give the attorney-in-fact the power to enter into the arbitration agreement on the resident’s behalf. Id. As such, the court held the resident’s estate was not bound by the arbitration agreement. Id.

In Estate of Linton, Mrs. Linton’s son signed the residency agreement, which contained an arbitration provision, on her behalf. 953 So.2d at 576. Mrs. Linton suffered from advanced Alzheimer’s disease.1 Id. Mrs. Linton’s estate sued the health care facility after she died while a resident at the facility. Id. The facility moved to compel arbitration pursuant to the terms of the residency agreement. Id. The estate maintained the agreement was unenforceable, in part, because Mrs. Linton’s son did not have the authority to sign the agreement on her behalf. Id. The trial court rejected this argument. Id. On appeal, the First District found Mrs. Linton was an intended third-party beneficiary to the contract and, therefore, the arbitration clause was enforceable. Id. at 579.

This case is much simpler than the cases relied on by the parties. Here, the residency agreement was between Elizabeth Perry and the Facility. However, on page one of the residency agreement, the space provided for the names of the resident and the responsible party are left blank. Further, while both the page containing the arbitration provision and the execution page of the agreement are signed by Johnson, neither are signed by Elizabeth Perry and her name does not appear in the agreement. Finally, although a part of the agreement provides that “[i]f an individual other than the Resident signs on behalf of the Resident,” the individual should “indicate the relationship to the resident and obtain copies of relevant documentation at the time of admission,” that portion of the agreement is left blank.2

It is apparent from the agreement that Johnson signed as the responsible party *148who undertakes the obligation of a guarantor for payment on behalf of the resident. However, Elizabeth Perry did not sign the agreement nor did any other person sign on her behalf. As a result, no valid agreement existed between the Facility and Elizabeth Perry, and the arbitration agreement is not enforceable as to Elizabeth Perry.

Alternatively, we find that Estate of Linton is distinguishable from this case because, here, there is no evidence Elizabeth Perry was incapable of signing the agreement on her own behalf. Moreover, even if we found Johnson signed the agreement on Elizabeth Perry’s behalf, there is absolutely no evidence that she had the authority to bind Elizabeth Perry to the arbitration agreement. Thus, under these circumstances, it was error for the lower court to compel arbitration. See Carrington Place of St. Pete, LLC v. Estate of Milo ex rel. Brito, 19 So.3d 340, 341-42 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009) (finding motion to compel arbitration properly denied where child lacked authority to bind mother to arbitrate); Estate of McKibbin, 977 So.2d at 612.

For these reasons, the order granting binding arbitration and staying the proceedings is reversed and the matter is remanded to the trial court for further proceedings on the merits.

REVERSED and REMANDED.

SAWAYA and TORPY, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Mendez v. Hampton Court Nursing Ctr., LLC, 203 So. 3d 146 (Fla. 2016)
    …ee Mendez, 140 So. 3d at 674; Alterra Healthcare, 953 So. 2d at 579. As discussed below, we reject this view. On similar facts, the Second, Fourth, and Fifth Districts held differently. See Perry ex rel. Perry v. Sovereign Healthcare Metro W., LLC, 100 So. 3d 146, 147-48 (Fla. 5th DCA 2012); Fletcher v. Huntington Place Ltd. P’ship, 952 So. 2d 1225, 1227 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007); Lepisto v. Senior Lifestyle Newport Ltd. P’ship, 78 So. 3d 89, 92 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012); In re Estate of McKibhin, 977 So. 2d 612, 613 (F…
    1 / 2
  • Mendez v. Hampton Court Nursing Ctr., LLC, 140 So. 3d 671 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014)
    …agreement, indicate[d] that Fletcher did not sign the agreement in her capacity as her mother’s representative,” where daughter signed- in area indicating financial responsibility). In Perry ex rel. Perry v. Sovereign Healthcare of Metro West, LLC, 100 So. 3d 146, 148 (Fla. 5th DCA 2012) review dismissed 134 So. 3d 450 (Fla.2014), the Fifth District held that a resident was not bound by the arbitration clause contained in the agreement for care executed by her daughter. The Fifth District reasoned that “ther…
  • …estate filed an amended motion to reconsider, further arguing that the Fifth District had recently held that a similar arbitration provision was unenforceable under similar circumstances. See Perry ex rel. Perry v. Sovereign Healthcare of Metro W., 100 So. 3d 146 (Fla. 5th DCA 2012) (decided October 12, 2012). The estate argued that Mr. Yaraw-sky did not sign the resident admission and financial agreement and that Mrs. Ya-rawsky, who signed the agreement as the responsible party, did not have authority to si…

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