MARIE A. GAETA, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF ANTHONY J. GAETA, APPELLANT,
v.
SEASIDE MANOR, LLC AND SABER HEALTHCARE HOLDINGS, LLC, APPELLEES.
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Marie Gaeta appealed a trial court order compelling arbitration of tort claims against a nursing facility where she had signed an arbitration agreement on behalf of her husband. The Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal reversed, holding that the agreement's limitation of liability provision violates Florida public policy and cannot be severed, following binding precedent from Gessa, Shotts, and Reinshagen.
The limitation of liability provision in the arbitration agreement is unenforceable because it violates Florida's public policy and cannot be severed from the agreement. The court, not an arbitrator, has authority to make this determination because no valid delegation provision exists in the agreement.
[1] An agreement to arbitrate containing provisions that violate Florida public policy is unenforceable.
[2] Provisions in an arbitration agreement that violate Florida public policy are not severable when the agreement lacks a delegation clause empowering an arbitrator to deter…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Appellant argues that numerous provisions of the Agreement, including a limitation of liability provision, are unenforceable because they violate Florida's public policy, and that those provisions cannot be severed”
States the core issue of whether public policy violations make arbitration agreement provisions unenforceable and non-severable
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant's husband was admitted to Appellees' assisted living facility. At admission, Appellant signed an arbitration agreement on behalf of her husb…
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Appellant, Marie A. Gaeta, individually and as personal representative of the Estate of Anthony J. Gaeta, appeals the trial court's non-final order compelling arbitration of her tort claims against Appellees. Appellant's husband was admitted to Appellees' assisted living facility, at which time Appellant signed, on behalf of her husband, an agreement to arbitrate any disputes between the parties (the "Agreement"). Appellant argues that numerous provisions of the Agreement, including a limitation of liability provision, are unenforceable because they violate Florida's public policy, and that those provisions cannot be severed, citing Gessa v. Manor Care of Florida, Inc. , 86 So.3d 484 (Fla. 2011), Shotts v. OP Winter Haven, Inc. , 86 So.3d 456 (Fla. 2011), and Estate of Reinshagen ex rel. Reinshagen v. WRYP ALF, LLC , 190 So.3d 224 (Fla. 5th DCA 2016). We agree.1
In light of this binding case law, Appellees make no attempt to argue that any of the challenged provisions are consistent with public policy or even that they are severable. Rather, Appellees' primary argument is that the arbitrator, not the court, must make those determinations because the Agreement contains a delegation provision. However, after a thorough review of the record, we do not find a delegation provision in the Agreement. Thus, we agree with Appellant that Gessa , Shotts , and Reinshagen compel a conclusion here that the limitation of liability provision in the Agreement is both unenforceable and not severable.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
PALMER, WALLIS and EISNAUGLE, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Shotts v. OP Winter Haven, Inc., 86 So. 3d 456 (Fla. 2011)
- Gessa v. Manor Care OF Fla., Inc., 86 So. 3d 484 (Fla. 2011)
- Est. OF Robert F. Reinshagen v. Wryp ALF, LLC, 190 So. 3d 224 (Fla. 5th DCA 2016)
- Burgess v. Jones, 190 So. 3d 224 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016)