Arbitration & Mediation

Florida Supreme Court to Hear Oral Argument in Nursing Home Arbitration Case

By Christopher B. Hopkins, Esq.

The Florida Supreme Court will hear oral argument in a nursing home arbitration case, Gayle Shotts v. Tandem Health Care of Winter Haven, OP Winter Haven, Inc.; Tandem Regional Management of Florida, Inc.; et al.

A good overall primer on these nursing home arbitration cases is here.

Back in June 2008, a Second District panel (Salcines, Altenbernd, and Kelly) held that a power-of-attorney properly signed a nursing home arbitration agreement which was neither unconscionable nor against public policy.

The dispute which captured the high court's attention involved the fact that the arbitration was to be governed by AHLA / NHLA rules, which set out a higher standard of proof. In Shotts, the Second DCA simply severed those terms. In (alleged, direct) conflict, the Fourth DCA has denied arbitration and declined to sever.

HCR-Manor Care filed an amicus brief (primarily because their case, Lacey v. Healthcare, is one of the cases claimed to be in direct conflict).

The Shotts court docket is here. Assuming the technology works, you can watch oral argument live on Gavel2Gavel.

Full post as published by Florida Arbitration Law on May 18, 2010 (boomark / email).