SOVEREIGN HEALTHCARE OF TAMPA, LLC; SOUTHERN HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT, LLC; AND VICTOR J. PIPERATA, II, APPELLANTS,
v.
THE ESTATE OF OTTO N. SCHMITT, BY AND THROUGH JANICE R. SCHMITT, PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE, 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.
Sovereign Healthcare appealed a trial court's denial of their motion to compel arbitration in a nursing home negligence case. The court affirmed, holding that an arbitration agreement signed only by the resident's wife (as responsible party, not as the resident's agent) was unenforceable against the resident's estate because the resident himself never signed it.
The arbitration provision in the February 7, 2013 agreement is unenforceable against the estate because the resident did not sign the agreement and his wife lacked authority to sign it on his behalf. The court did not address the enforceability of the September 26, 2013 agreement because the trial court expressly reserved ruling on that issue.
[1] An arbitration provision in a resident admission and financial agreement is unenforceable against a resident's estate if the resident did not sign the agreement and the r…
[2] Appellate review is confined to issues decided adversely to the appellant's position.
Previewing 2 of 3 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“Mr. Schmitt did not sign it and the evidence established that Mrs. Schmitt was not authorized to sign that agreement on her husband's behalf. Accordingly, the arbitration provision in the initial agreement is unenforceable against Mr. Schmitt's estate.”
The core holding: lack of signature by the resident and absence of authority in the spouse to sign on the resident's behalf renders the arbitration provision unenforceable.
Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceOtto N. Schmitt was a resident at Bayshore Pointe Nursing & Rehabilitation Center during two periods in 2013. For his initial stay (February 1–March 6…
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 Scope Of Appellate Review cases and more on FLexlaw
Sovereign Healthcare of Tampa, LLC; Southern Healthcare Management, LLC; and Victor Piperata, II (the Appellants), challenge a nonfinal order denying their motion to compel arbitration and to stay the underlying nursing home negligence action brought against them by Janice R. Schmitt, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Otto N. Schmitt, deceased.1 Mrs. Schmitt is the widow of Mr. Schmitt. Her claims against the Appellants arise out of Mr. Schmitt’s two residencies at Bayshore Pointe Nursing & Rehabilitation Center from February 1, 2013, to March 6, 2013, and from September 25, 2013, to October 18, 2013. With regard to Mr. Schmitt’s initial residency, the Appellants’ arbitration motion was based on an arbitration provision included in a Resident Admission and Financial Agreement dated February 7, 2013. With regard to the second residency, the Appellants’ arbitration motion was based on an identical arbitration provision included in a Resident Admission and Financial Agreement dated September 26,2013.
We affirm the circuit court’s order with regard to the agreement dated February 7, 2013, because Mr. Schmitt did not sign it and the evidence established that Mrs. Schmitt was not authorized to sign that agreement on her husband’s behalf. Accordingly, the arbitration provision in the initial agreement is unenforceable against Mr. Schmitt’s estate. Cf. Sovereign Healthcare of Tampa, LLC v. Estate of Yarawsky, ex rel. Yarawsky, 150 So.3d 873, 877-78 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014) (holding that an arbitration provision included in a resident admission and financial agreement was not enforceable against the resident’s estate where the resident did not sign the agreement and the resident’s wife, who signed the agreement only in her capacity as the responsible party, did not have the authority to sign the agreement on her husband’s behalf).
The circuit court reserved ruling and expressly declined to decide the issue of whether Mr. Schmitt’s estate was bound to arbitrate under the arbitration provision in the agreement dated September 26, 2013. *1177Because the question of the Appellants’ right to enforce the arbitration provision in the second agreement has not been decided adversely to them, we do not address this issue. See Clear Channel Commc’ns, Inc. v. City of N. Bay Vill., 911 So.2d 188, 189 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005) (“Appellate review is confined to issues decided adversely to appellant’s position.”).
Affirmed.
KELLY and MORRIS, JJ., Concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Clear Channel Commc'ns, Inc. v. City OF N. BAY Vill., 911 So. 2d 188 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005)
- Foster v. State, 911 So. 2d 188 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005)
- Sovereign Healthcare OF Tampa, LLC v. The Est. OF William S. Yarawsky, 150 So. 3d 873 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014)