FEATHER SOUND COUNTRY CLUB, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLANT,
v.
DONALD BARBER, APPELLEE
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Feather Sound Country Club appeals the trial court's denial of its motion to compel arbitration in a breach of contract action. The appellate court reverses, holding that disputes arising from an allegedly breached contract containing an arbitration clause must be submitted to arbitration, even when the defendant claims the contract had expired.
The court reversed and held that courts must defer to arbitration under Florida Statutes sections 682.03(1) and (4) when the arbitration agreement is admitted and the dispute relates solely to whether the contract has been abandoned or ceased to be in effect due to intervening events.
[1] A court must compel arbitration when the existence of an arbitration agreement and its clause are admitted, and the dispute concerns only whether the contract has expired…
[2] A claim is considered to arise out of or relate to an agreement for purposes of an arbitration clause when the claimant must prove the existence and breach of that agreem…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“sections 682.03(1) and (4), Florida Statutes (1987), unchanged since those cases were decided, mandate that courts yield their jurisdiction to arbitration where the making of the agreement and the arbitration clause therein are admitted and the issue in dispute between the parties relates only to whether the contract has been abandoned or that the once existent arbitration clause is not in force and effect due to events which have transpired since the making of the contract.”
Establishes the legal standard for when courts must compel arbitration despite defendant's claim that the contract expired
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDonald Barber sued Feather Sound Country Club for compensatory and punitive damages for alleged breach of a written contract. The contract contained a…
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CAMPBELL, Judge.
Appellant, Feather Sound Country Club, Inc., was the defendant below in an action where appellee, Donald Barber, sued for compensatory and punitive damages arising out of appellant’s alleged breach of a contract. Appellant moved to dismiss on the basis that the contract contained a provision mandating arbitration of “any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this agreement....” The trial judge denied appellant’s request to compel arbitration and this interlocutory appeal followed. We reverse.
It is clear from appellee’s complaint that he bases each of his grievances against appellant on the existence and alleged breach of the written contract attached to the complaint. While appellant admits the execution of the contract, it argues that the contract had by its own terms expired prior to the time that appellant allegedly breached it. We do not reach the issue of the continued existence of the contract. Nevertheless, under the pleadings as framed, it appears that appellee can only prevail on his claims if he proves the existence of the contract and its breach by appellant. Thus, under the terms of the contract requiring arbitration, appellee is asserting a controversy or claim arising out of or relating to the agreement. While appellant’s defense is based upon its allegation that the terms of the contract had expired, appellant does not deny the making of the contract nor the existence of the arbitration clause.
We are unable to differentiate this case from Metropolitan Dade County v. Resources Recovery (Dade County) Construction Corp., 462 So. 2d 570 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985) and Gersh v. Concept House, Inc., 291 So. 2d 258 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974). Our review of those cases leads us to conclude that sections 682.03(1) and (4), Florida Statutes (1987), unchanged since those cases were decided, mandate that courts yield their jurisdiction to arbitration where the making of the agreement and the arbitration clause therein are admitted and the issue in dispute between the parties relates only to whether the contract has been abandoned or that the once existent arbitration clause is not in force and effect due to events which have transpired since the making of the contract. We agree and thereby reverse and remand with instructions that appellee’s complaint shall be stayed and that the parties shall be directed to proceed to arbitration.
DANAHY, A.C.J., and ALTENBERND, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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The Est. OF Dorothy Blanchard v. Cent. Park Lodges (Tarpon Springs), Inc., 805 So. 2d 6 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001)…ontract terminated on the date of Dorothy Blanchard’s death. Whether the contract terminated due to events subsequent to the making of the contract is an issue for arbitration, not for the trial court. See Feather Sound Country Club, Inc. v. Barber, 567 So. 2d 10 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990) (holding that when party admitted execution of contract but argued that contract had expired by its own terms, the issue was for arbitration); Montesino v. Advent Techs., Inc., 676 So. 2d 32 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996) (holding that whethe…
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C & M Ventures, Inc. v. Wolf, 587 So. 2d 512 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991)…waive the right to arbitration. See Executive Life Ins. Co. v. John Hammer & Assoc., 569 So. 2d 855 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990). Further, the breach claimed did not permit abandonment of the arbitration provision. Feather Sound Country Club, Inc. v. Barber, 567 So. 2d 10 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990). Next, as to the changes, the Wolfs claim they were oral. C & M submitted written documentation of each change. The Wolfs responded that although written evidence was submitted, that evidence was not in compliance with the proced…
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Florida Education Association/United v. Sachs, 627 So. 2d 1240 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993)…are admitted, and the issue relates only to whether that contract was abandoned or no longer in effect due to subsequent events. Gersh v. Concept House, Inc., 291 So. 2d 258, 259 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974). Accord Feather Sound Country Club, Inc. v. Barber, 567 So. 2d 10 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990). See also Metropolitan Dade County v. Resources Recovery Construction Corp., 462 So. 2d 570 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985) (if the party is asserting that an existing arbitration clause is not in effect due to events following the contract, t…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Gersh v. Concept House, Inc., 291 So. 2d 258 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974)
- Metro. Dade Cnty. v. Res. Recovery (Dade County) Constr. Corp., 462 So. 2d 570 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)