Courville v. Allied Professionals Insurance Co.

174 So. 3d 659, 2013 La.App. 1 Cir. 0976, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 1176
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 5, 2015
DocketNo. 2013 CA 0976
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 174 So. 3d 659 (Courville v. Allied Professionals Insurance Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Courville v. Allied Professionals Insurance Co., 174 So. 3d 659, 2013 La.App. 1 Cir. 0976, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 1176 (La. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinions

McDonald, j.

12FACTS

Ronald and Angela Courville (the Cour-villes) filed a petition for medical malpractice on November 28, 2011, against Dr. Rathmann and his clinic, Rathmann-Keogh Chiropractic Clinics, L.L.C. Pursuant to the Louisiana Direct Action Statute, La.Rev.Stat. 22:1269 (“LDAS”) et seq., the Courvilles also named Dr. Rathmann’s foreign liability insurer, Allied Professionals Insurance Company, A Risk Retention Group, Inc. (“APIC”), as a defendant. ABIC is an Arizona risk retention group [662]*662created pursuant to the Liability Risk Retention Act of 1986 (“LRRA”). 15 U.S.C. § 3901 et seq. APIC, however, refused to participate in the proceedings and filed an exception raising the objection of no cause of action and a Motion to Compel Arbitration and Stay Proceedings. APIC’s Motion to Compel Arbitration and Stay Proceedings was premised on an arbitration provision contained in an insurance agreement entered into between Dr. Rathmann and APIC (no other party or entity is mentioned in the agreement, nor is anyone a signatory to the agreement except APIC and Dr. Rathmann). The arbitration clause in question provides, in pertinent part:

“C. Arbitration. All disputes or claims involving the Company shall be resolved by binding arbitration, whether such disputes or claim arises between the parties to this Policy, or between the Company and any person or entity who is not a party to the Policy but is claiming right either under the policy or against the Company.... All procedures, methods, and rights with respect to the right to compel arbitration pursuant to this Article shall be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act. The arbitration shall occur in Orange County, California. The 'laws of the State of California shall apply to any substantive, evidentiary, or discovery issues.... If any party seeks a court order compelling arbitration under this provision, the prevailing party in such motion, petition or other proceeding to compel arbitration shall recover all reasonable legal fees and costs incurred thereby and in any subsequent appeal, and in any action to collect the fees and costs...”

In an order signed February 4, 2013, APIC’s Motion to Compel Arbitration and Stay Proceedings was granted by the trial court, ordering all parties to submit |sto binding arbitration in California pursuant to the terms and conditions of the insurance policy. The trial court pretermitted ruling on the no cause of action exception filed by APIC. In support of its exception of no cause of action, APIC argues that the LRRA preempts the LDAS. The Cour-villes’ contend that the trial court’s narrow holding allows this Court to decide not to rule on the issue. However, to properly discuss and review the Courvilles’ first assignment of error, it is necessary to clarify the relationship between the LRRA, The Federal Arbitration Act, and the McCar-ran-Ferguson Act.

On March 15, 2013, the Courvilles filed a motion for suspensive appeal, which was granted by the trial court, on March 21, 2013. The trial court granted a Motion and Order for Suspensive Appeal. On appeal, the Courvilles assign the following errors:

1. APIC was well aware of La.Rev. Stat. Ann. § 22:1269 (Louisiana Direct Action Statute) and the risk that it would be hailed into a Louisiana court when it issued liability insurance coverage to a Louisiana physician. APIC was also well aware of La.Rev.Stat. Ann § 22:868 that expressly prohibits arbitration provisions in insurance contracts. APIC, furthermore, was well aware that its arbitration provision was governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, an Act which the McCarran Ferguson Act allows for La.Rev.Stat. §§ 22:1269 and 22:868 to “reverse preempt,” thereby voiding APIC’s arbitration provision. The district court erred in ordering that the Courvilles must attend binding arbitration in California.
2. Out of an abundance of caution and to the extent that this Court affirms the district court’s granting of APIC’s Motion to Compel Arbitration and Stay All Proceedings, the Courvilles raise an ad[663]*663ditional assignment of error. The Courvilles’ claims against Dr. Rath-mann, individually, and Rathmann-Keogh Chiropractic Clinics, L.L.C., individually, are not subject to an arbitration agreement. The district court should not have stayed those claims. The district court erred in staying the entire proceedings as opposed to only the Courvilles’ claims against APIC.
For the following reasons, we affirm a portion of the decision of the trial court, reverse a portion and lift the stay.

^STANDARD OF REVIEW

The determination of whether to compel arbitration is a question of law, and thus, this court conducts a de novo review.1 Courts use a bifurcated analysis to determine whether it is proper to compel a party to arbitrate.2 In ruling on a motion to compel arbitration, the court must first determine whether the parties agreed to arbitrate the type of claim that is at issue.3 Then, upon finding that the parties have agreed to arbitrate, the court must look to see if any federal statute or policy deems the dispute nonarbitrable.4 The Federal Arbitration Act of 1924(FAA) expresses a strong national policy favoring arbitration of disputes, and all doubts concerning the arbitrability of claims should be resolved in favor of arbitration.5

Clearly, the trigger of the court’s power to compel arbitration is the existence of a presumptively valid arbitration agreement, contained within a contract signed by the parties. Chastain v. Robinson-Humphrey Company, 957 F.2d 851, 855 (11th Cir.1992). Thus, the first task of a court, asked to compel arbitration of a dispute, is to determine whether the parties agreed to arbitrate that dispute. Chastain, 957 F.2d at 854 (wherein the signature of one party to a securities trading account was alleged to have been forged, and it was held that it is for courts to decide whether the alleged ob-ligor ever signed the contract). Under normal circumstances, the Chastain court explained, an arbitration provision within a contract, which the contractual parties have admitted to signing, is sufficient to require the district court to send any controversies to arbitration. Under such circumstances, the parties have at least presumptively agreed to arbitrate any disputes, including those disputes about the validity of the contract in general. Because the making of the arbitration | sagreement itself is rarely in issue when the parties have signed a contract containing an arbitration pro[664]*664vision, the district court usually must compel arbitration immediately after one of the contractual parties so requests.
Jasper Contractors, Inc. v. E-Claim.com, LLC, 2011-0978, p. 9, n. 7 (LáApp. 1 Cir. 5/4/12), 94 So.3d 123, 130 n. 7.

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174 So. 3d 659, 2013 La.App. 1 Cir. 0976, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 1176, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/courville-v-allied-professionals-insurance-co-lactapp-2015.