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FLORIDA DECISION HOLDS THAT A PATIENT IS NOT DUTIBOUND TO ARBITRATE WHEN
NOT A SIGNATORY
An
appellate court in Florida reversed a lower court’s holding that a
patient in a nursing home was bound to arbitrate even though the patient
was not a signatory to the contract. In
Florida, a patient cannot be compelled to arbitrate a dispute unless the
patient either signed the agreement or was more than an incidental
beneficiary of the contract sought to be arbitrated. There
were two contracts. One was a
consulting contract and the other was a management contract. The contracts dealt with the management of the nursing home.
Indirectly a well managed nursing home would inure to the benefit of the
patients. But the
benefit must be more than incidental or consequential.
It must be primarily shown to be for the benefit of the person.
The contract must be clear that it is intended to benefit the
person against whom arbitration is sought. |
