CARRINGTON PLACE OF ST. PETE, LLC; TRADITIONS MANAGEMENT OF FLORIDA A/K/A TRADITIONS MANAGEMENT OF FLORIDA, LLC; BEN ATKINS A/K/A BEN A. ATKINS; MARY A. MORRISON; PAUL J. PRYBYLSKI A/K/A PAUL JOHN PRYBYLSKI; DAWN EDWARDS A/K/A DAWN ALLISON EDWARDS; NANCY J. MALLOY A/K/A NANCY JILL MALLOY (AS TO CARRINGTON PLACE NURSING & REHABILITATION CENTER F/K/A CARRINGTON PLACE CARE CENTER A/K/A CARRINGTON PLACE), APPELLANTS,
v.
THE ESTATE OF JENNIE MILO, BY AND THROUGH ANNETTE BRITO A/K/A ANTOINETTE MARY BRITO, PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE, APPELLEE
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A nursing home and its management appealed the trial court's denial of their motion to compel arbitration based on an arbitration agreement signed by the deceased resident's attorney-in-fact. The court held that the durable power of attorney did not grant the attorney-in-fact authority to waive the resident's right to jury trial and agree to arbitration, and therefore affirmed the trial court's order.
No. The trial court correctly denied the motion to compel arbitration because the POA did not contain language that unambiguously granted broad, general authority to agree to arbitration. The POA language specifically referred to rights, duties, and powers related solely to Milo's property interests, not the authority to waive constitutional rights such as jury trial.
[1] A durable power of attorney must unambiguously grant broad, general authority to an attorney-in-fact to enter into an arbitration agreement on behalf of the principal.
[2] A trial court correctly denies a motion to compel arbitration when the durable power of attorney does not grant the attorney-in-fact authority to waive the principal's ri…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Where nothing in a POA gives an attorney-in-fact legal authority to enter into an arbitration agreement on a person's behalf, a trial court is incorrect to grant a nursing home's motion to compel arbitration based on an admission agreement entered into by the attorney-in-fact.”
Establishes the controlling legal principle that specific POA authority is required for an attorney-in-fact to bind a principal to arbitration.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJennie Milo executed a durable power of attorney in 2002 appointing her daughter, Annette Brito, as attorney-in-fact. When Milo entered Carrington Pla…
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Carrington Place of St. Petersburg, LLC; Traditions Management of Florida; Ben Atkins; Mary A. Morrison; Paul J. Prybylski; Dawn Edwards; and Nancy J. Malloy (Appellants) appeal the trial court’s order denying their motion to dismiss and compel arbitration and/or stay proceedings. After Jennie Milo died following a stay at a nursing home, Annette Brito, as the personal representative of Milo’s estate, brought suit against Appellants for wrongful death, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and residents’ rights violations.1 When Appellants sought to dismiss or stay the proceedings in order to proceed to arbitration, the trial court denied the motion. Because the trial court correctly determined that the durable power of attorney (POA) executed by Milo did not grant Brito the authority to enter into the arbitration clause of the nursing home admission agreement, we affirm.
On March 5, 2002, Milo executed a POA appointing Brito, who is her daughter, as her attorney-in-fact. When Milo entered Carrington Place on June 3, 2006, Brito signed the necessary admission documents, which included an arbitration agreement. At that time, Brito did not indicate a desire to exclude the arbitration provision from the admission agreement. After Milo’s death and the initiation of the lawsuit, Appellants moved to compel arbitration based on that arbitration clause. Following a hearing, the trial court entered an order denying the motion and concluding that the POA held by Brito was insufficient to authorize her to waive Milo’s right to a jury trial and agree to arbitration.
Where nothing in a POA gives an attorney-in-fact legal authority to enter into an arbitration agreement on a person’s behalf, a trial court is incorrect to grant a nursing home’s motion to compel arbitration based on an admission agreement entered into by the attorney-in-fact. See Estate of McKibbin v. Alterra Health Care Corp. (In re Estate of McKibbin), 977 So.2d 612 (Fla. 2d DCA), review denied, 987 So.2d 79 (Fla.2008). Cf. Jaylene, Inc. v. Moots, 995 So.2d 566, 568 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008) (holding that an attorney-in-fact had the authority under a POA to agree to an arbitration clause in a nursing home admission agreement on behalf of the principal of the POA where, although the POA contained no specific provisions granting the power to consent to arbitration, it conferred an “extremely broad and unambiguous” grant of authority). In Jaylene, this court found that “[t]he McKibbin case is controlling only to the extent that it is possible to determine from the court’s opinion that the power of attorney at issue in that case was similar to the POA held by [the attorney-in-fact].” 995 So.2d at 570. Because “McKibbin does not set forth the language of the [POA] under review in that case,” it does not control “where the POA unambiguously makes a broad, general grant of authority to the attorney-in-fact.” Id.
Examining the POA executed here by Milo, we conclude that the language specifically refers to the rights, duties, and powers that Brito may exercise on behalf of Milo. But the language does not “unambiguously make[] a broad, general grant of authority” to Brito. See id. Our review of the language of the POA seemingly indicates that it specifically granted authority to Brito related solely to Milo’s *342property interests. Accordingly, McKib-bin controls, and we must affirm the trial court’s denial of Appellants’ motion to compel arbitration.
Affirmed.
NORTHCUTT, C.J., and VILLANTI, J., Concur.
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Laizure v. Avante AT Leesburg, Inc., 44 So. 3d 1254 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010)…binding on his estate and survivors in the event a wrongful death claim is subsequently pursued. See, e.g., ManorCare Health Servs., Inc. v. Stiehl, 22 So. 3d 96 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009); Carrington Place of St. Pete, LLC v. Estate of Milo ex rel. Brito, 19 So. 3d 340 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009); Sovereign Healthcare of Tampa, LLC v. Estate of Huerta ex rel. Huerta, 14 So. 3d 1033 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009); Shotts v. OP Winter Haven, Inc., 988 So. 2d 639 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008); Estate of Orlanis ex rel. Marks v. Oakwood Terrace Skil…
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Manorcare Health Servs., Inc. v. Stiehl, 22 So. 3d 96 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009)…, these circumstances do not lend themselves to the natural creation of a level playing field. . Hopefully, Manor Care will not raise the statute of limitations as a defense. . See Carrington Place of St. Pete, LLC v. Estate of Milo ex rel. Brito, 19 So. 3d 340 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009); Gessa, 4 So. 3d at 682; Jaylene, Inc. v. Moots, 995 So. 2d 566 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008); Shotts, 988 So. 2d at 642; Woebse v. Health Care & Ret. Corp. of Am., 977 So. 2d 630 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008); Bland, 927 So. 2d at 254; Estate of Willi…
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Joyce Perry o/b/o Elizabeth Perry v. Sovereign Healthcare OF Metro West, 100 So. 3d 146 (Fla. 5th DCA 2012)…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…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Pleasant v. State, 977 So. 2d 612 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008)
- Jaylene, Inc. v. Moots, 995 So. 2d 566 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008)
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