DON’T INCLUDE AN ARBITRATION PROVISION IN YOUR CONTRACT IF YOU DON’T WANT TO ARBITRATE!

Posted on August 8, 2014November 8, 2024 by Edward Garber

Arbitration as the method of dispute resolution is based on your contract. If you don’t want to arbitrate, do not (I repeat, do not) include an arbitration provision. If you ultimately have no choice and need to agree to a contract that includes an arbitration provision, understand that this provision will be enforced unless the parties agree to waive it.

The recent case of Bari Builders, Inc. v. Hovstone Properties Florida, LLC, et al., 39 Fla. L. Weekly D1648a (Fla. 4^th DCA 2014), exemplifies what happens if you include an arbitration provision. In this case, a condominium association sued the developer for construction defects. The developer (that may have also served as the general contractor / home builder) third-partied in its subcontractors. However, there was a binding arbitration provision in the subcontract. Subcontractors, therefore, moved to compel arbitration of the developer’s claims against them. The developer, naturally, did not want to arbitrate its third-party claims against subcontractors when it was being sued by the condominium association. It makes more sense to wrap up the disputes in one matter. The developer tried to argue around arbitration by arguing that the arbitration provision in its contract was ambiguous because another place in the contract said, “In all actions the parties waive the right to jury and agree to determination of all facts by the court.” The Fourth District Court of Appeal disagreed with the developer’s ambiguity argument and reconciled this language:

“[T]he jury waiver language in the subcontract does not render the arbitration provision ambiguous, as the two provisions can be reconciled in favor of arbitration. Read together, the provisions provide that the parties agree to submit any ‘controversy or claim’ to arbitration and, thereafter, any award may be reduced to judgment in court without the right to a jury trial. Additionally, in the event that the parties choose to waive their right to arbitration, the clause provides that any ‘action’ in court will be in the form of a bench trial.”

Bari Builders, supra.

As shown in this case, courts will favor arbitration when there is an arbitration provision in the contract. If parties prefer arbitration, and specifically if arbitration is preferred by a general contractor, the contract should include language that in the event the general contractor is sued by the developer or association (or any third-party), the general contractor, at its sole discretion, can waive arbitration and the parties are bound to the forum governing the dispute against the general contractor. In other words, the general contractor has the authority to join in the subcontractor to any dispute it is involved in irrespective of the arbitration provision.

Please contact David Adelstein at dadelstein@gmail.com or (954) 361-4720 if you have questions or would like more information regarding this article. You can follow David Adelstein on Twitter @DavidAdelstein1.

DEFERENCE GIVEN TO ARBITRATION PROVISIONS

Posted on August 12, 2013November 8, 2024 by Edward Garber

The recent case of Pulte Home Corp. v. Bay at Cypress Creek Homeowner’s Association, Inc., 38 Fla. L. Weekly D1705a (Fla. 2d DCA 2012) involves a dispute by a homeowner’s association against its developer / homebuilder. In this case, the association sued the developer / homebuilder for building code violations under Florida Statute s. 553.84. The association did this in order to try to circumvent an arbitration provision in the developer / homebuilder’s limited warranty given in favor of initial purchasers. The developer / homebuilder moved to compel arbitration which was denied by the trial court. On appeal, the Second District Court of appeals reversed the trial court finding that statutory claims were covered by the arbitration provision.

The issue to remember is that deference is given to arbitration provisions and that statutory claims, breach of contract claims, warranty claims, and tort claims are all claims that may be submitted to arbitration pursuant to an arbitration provision. In Pulte Home, the association, for strategic reasons, did not want to arbitrate and tried to pursue a claim that did not subject it to arbitration. Although the Second District did not recite the arbitration provision in the opinion, the Court maintained that the agreement to arbitrate in the limited warranty given to initial purchasers covered statutory claims.

CAREFUL DRAFTING OF ARBITRATION PROVISIONS TO ENSURE THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS APPLIES TO CLAIMS RESOLVED THROUGH ARBITRATION

Posted on November 27, 2011November 8, 2024 by Edward Garber

Many construction contracts include arbitration provisions as the means to resolve a dispute instead of resorting to litigation. Certain owners prefer to resolve their disputes with contractors through arbitration and certain contractors, likewise, prefer to resolve their disputes with subcontractors through arbitration.

The case of Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. v. Phillips, 36 Fla. L. Weekly D2479a (2d DCA 2011), certified the following question to the Florida Supreme Court:

“Does Section 95.011, Florida Statutes, apply to arbitration when the parties have not expressly included a provision in their arbitration agreement stating that it is applicable.”

While this case was not a construction case, the question certified to the Florida Supreme Court was a fundamental issue that applied to ALL arbitration provisions. Section 95.011 is included in Florida Statutes Chapter 95 (“Chapter 95”) dealing with the statute of limitations for actions. The statute of limitations requires lawsuits to be brought within the specified timeframe set forth in Chapter 95 or else the action is time-barred, meaning it cannot properly be asserted under the law. In this case, however, the Second District found that there was nothing in the arbitration provision at-issue that required actions to be brought within the limitations periods set forth in Chapter 95 and, along these lines, nothing in Chapter 95 clarified that the statutes of limitations for actions was intended to apply to disputes resolved through arbitration.

This decision was crucial because if the statute of limitations is not intended to apply to disputes resolved through arbitration, and nothing in the arbitration provision clarifies that the statute of limitations periods set forth in Chapter 95 are intended to apply, then there is technically NO time period for when a dispute needs to be initiated because they could never be time-barred under the law. The corollary of this is that it could open arbitration floodgates because parties that thought they could no longer bring an arbitration claim under the law could now assert an argument that their claim was never time-barred under the law.

Luckily, the Florida Supreme Court answered the Second District’s certified question in the affirmative holding that the statute of limitations DOES APPLY TO ARBITRATION PROCEEDINGS!!! See Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. v. Phillips, 126 So.3d 186 (2013). This means that the defense of statute of limitations can be raised in an arbitration proceeding as a basis to bar an untimely filed claim.

With respect to construction contractors, parties that utilize the AIA Agreements (promulgated by the American Institute of Architects) that select arbitration as the dispute resolution procedure should still safely ensure the agreement contains a provision to the effect:

“In no effect shall the demand for arbitration be made after the date when institution of legal or equitable proceedings based on such claim would be barred under the applicable statute of limitations.”

The AIA standard form agreements usually include this provision almost verbatim. This provision should not be deleted. When drafting or negotiating an AIA agreement that includes an arbitration provision, a party should ensure that language to the effect is included in the agreement and not deleted or substantially manipulated so as to render it ambiguous. Also, parties that do not use an AIA agreement and prefer arbitration need to draft such a provision or mimic one after the provision used in the standard form AIA agreements to ensure the statute of limitations applies to claims / disputes resolved through arbitration no matter what.