An Arkansas nursing home can’t compel arbitration in a class-action lawsuit because it couldn’t prove the agreements for more than 200 residents were signed by legally authorized representatives.
The Arkansas Supreme Court handed down the ruling Thursday against the Robinson Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, based in Little Rock, AR. The nursing home will now have to fight claims of breach of contract, deceptive trade practices and unjust enrichment made by former residents in court, Bloomberg Law reported.
The nursing home argued that 544 signed arbitration agreements by the residents meant the class-action lawsuit couldn’t be solved in court, but rather the disputes should be arbitrated.
The court, however, found that the facility didn’t have proof the signers of 271 of those agreements were legally authorized to endorse the deals on their behalf.
The court also ruled that other arbitration agreements weren’t enforceable because they required claims for more than $30,000, and unfairly excluded higher value personal injury claims from litigation; the facility didn’t sign sign them; or they didn’t include necessary information, the report stated.
