Fredericksburg Care Co. v. Perez

406 S.W.3d 313, 2013 WL 3198555, 2013 Tex. App. LEXIS 7736
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 26, 2013
DocketNo. 04-13-00111-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 406 S.W.3d 313 (Fredericksburg Care Co. v. Perez) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fredericksburg Care Co. v. Perez, 406 S.W.3d 313, 2013 WL 3198555, 2013 Tex. App. LEXIS 7736 (Tex. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION

Opinion by:

REBECA C. MARTINEZ, Justice.

Appellant The Fredericksburg Care Company, L.P. d/b/a Princeton Place Rehabilitation and Healthcare Medical Center, owner of a nursing and long-term care facility in San Antonio (the “Nursing Facility”), appeals the trial court’s denial of its motion to compel arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) in the underlying health care liability lawsuit. The sole issue in this interlocutory appeal is whether Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 74.451, the arbitration provision of the Texas Medical Liability Act, is a law “enacted for the purpose of regulating the business of insurance” within the meaning of the federal McCarran-Ferguson Act (MFA) and is thus protected from FAA preemption. Tex. Civ. Prao. & Rem.Code Ann. § 74.451 (West 2011). We conclude that it is, and therefore affirm the trial court’s order denying arbitration under the FAA.

Factual and Procedural Background

Several former residents of Princeton Place Rehabilitation and Healthcare, either individually or through their heirs and representatives of their estates (collectively, the “Former Residents”),1 sued the Nursing Facility for negligence and gross negligence alleging they were denied appropriate medical and nursing care and suffered abuse and neglect. The Nursing Facility filed a motion to compel arbitration under the FAA based on the written admission agreements signed by, or on behalf of, the Former Residents. Each [316]*316admission agreement contained an arbitration clause stating, “Any legal dispute, controversy, demand or claim ... that arises out of or relates to the Resident Admission Agreement or any service or health care provided by the Facility to the Resident, shall be resolved exclusively by binding arbitration ... and not by lawsuit or resort to court process.... ” The clauses did not contain the 10-point boldface type notice required by section 74.451, and did not contain the signature of an attorney for the patient. In addition, some of the Former Residents also signed a “Mutual Agreement to Arbitrate Claims” which similarly did not include the required boldface notice or attorney signature.

The Former Residents filed a response asserting that the FAA did not apply because section 74.451 is a law regulating the business of insurance, and the MFA protects it from preemption by the FAA; therefore, section 74.451 controls the enforceability of the arbitration agreements, which do not comply with the law’s requirements. Section 74.451 provides that an arbitration agreement between a health care provider and a patient is not enforceable unless it has a 10-point type boldfaced notice and is signed by the patient’s attorney. Tex. Civ. Prao. & Rem.Code Ann. § 74.451. There is no dispute that the arbitration agreements did not comply with section 74.451’s requirements.

After a hearing on January 30, 2013, the trial court took the matter under advisement and later issued its ruling denying the Nursing Facility’s motion to compel arbitration under the FAA. The Nursing Facility brought this interlocutory appeal. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem.Code Ann. § 51.016 (West Supp.2012) (authorizing an appeal from an interlocutory order in a matter subject to the FAA). Oral argument was held in this appeal jointly with related Appeal Nos. 04-13-00110-CV, styled Williamsburg Care Co., L.P. d/b/a Princeton Place Rehabilitation and Healthcare Med. Ctr. v. Acosta, et al., 406 S.W.3d 711 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 2013) and 04-13-00112-CV, styled Fredericksburg Care Co., L.P. d/b/a Princeton Place Rehabilitation and Healthcare Med. Ctr. v. Lira, 407 S.W.3d 810 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 2013). Separate opinions and judgments are being issued in each of the three related appeals, but the legal analysis is identical.

Discussion

Standard of Review

Whether a valid arbitration agreement exists is a legal question subject to de novo review. J.M. Davidson, Inc. v. Webster, 128 S.W.3d 223, 227 (Tex.2003). The party seeking to compel arbitration has the initial burden to establish the existence of a valid arbitration agreement and that the claims fall within the agreement’s scope. In re AdvancePCS Health L.P., 172 S.W.3d 603, 605, 607 (Tex.2005) (orig. proceeding). The strong presumption favoring arbitration arises only after the party seeking to compel arbitration proves that a valid arbitration agreement exists. Webster, 128 S.W.3d at 227. Under the FAA, an agreement to arbitrate is valid if it meets the requirements of general contract law of the applicable state. In re AdvancePCS, 172 S.W.3d at 606 (citing First Options of Chicago, Inc. v. Kaplan, 514 U.S. 938, 944, 115 S.Ct. 1920, 131 L.Ed.2d 985 (1995)). Once it is established that a valid arbitration agreement exists covering the claims, a presumption attaches favoring arbitration and the burden shifts to the party resisting arbitration to establish a defense to enforcing arbitration. In re AdvancePCS, 172 S.W.3d at 607; J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc. v. Hartman, 307 S.W.3d 804, 810 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 2010, orig. proceeding).

[317]*317Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) — Preemption of Conflicting State Law

The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), 9 U.S.C. §§ 1, et seq., “establishes a national policy favoring arbitration when the parties contract for that mode of dispute resolution.” Preston v. Ferrer, 552 U.S. 346, 349, 128 S.Ct. 978, 169 L.Ed.2d 917 (2008) (citing Southland Corp. v. Keating, 465 U.S. 1, 10-12, 104 S.Ct. 852, 79 L.Ed.2d 1 (1984)). The FAA rests on Congress’s authority under the Commerce Clause and applies in state courts as well as federal courts. Id. at 349, 353, 128 S.Ct. 978. Section 2 of the FAA states, “A written provision in any ... contract evidencing a transaction involving commerce to settle by arbitration a controversy thereafter arising out of such contract or transaction ... shall be valid, irrevocable, and enforceable, save upon such grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract.” 9 U.S.C. § 2; see In re Halliburton Co., 80 S.W.3d 566, 568 (Tex.2002) (orig. proceeding) (under FAA, an arbitration agreement that is valid under state contract law and involves interstate commerce is “valid, irrevocable, and enforceable”). The national policy in favor of arbitration codified in the FAA “fore-elose[s] state legislative attempts to undercut the enforceability of arbitration agreements.” Preston, 552 U.S. at 353, 128 S.Ct. 978; Southland, 465 U.S. at 16, 104 S.Ct. 852. Thus, the FAA preempts state law restrictions on arbitration that are inconsistent with the FAA. Preston, 552 U.S. at 353, 128 S.Ct.

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