Wellness, Inc. v. Pearl River Cnty. Hosp. — Nov. 2015 (Summary)

CONTRACTS – ARBITRATION/MEDIATION

Wellness, Inc. v. Pearl River Cnty. Hosp.
No. 2014-CA-01696-SCT (Miss. Nov. 19, 2015)

The Supreme Court of Mississippi denied a defendant-contractor’s motion to compel mediation and arbitration in a lawsuit brought by a hospital.

The chief executive officer of the hospital and the contractor executed an agreement pursuant to which the contractor was to renovate certain areas of the hospital. The hospital sued the contractor, among others, for fraud, conspiracy and other causes of action. The contractor argued that the agreement contained a mediation and arbitration clause, and filed a motion to compel mediation and arbitration with the trial court. The hospital countered that there was not a valid mediation and arbitration agreement. The trial court denied the contractor’s motion and appealed the denial.

The Supreme Court of Mississippi reasoned that a valid mediation and arbitration agreement did not exist because, although the chief executive officer and the contractor executed the agreement, the hospital board’s minutes did not include sufficient reference to obligations to arbitrate. The language in the minutes was considered general and imprecise. Therefore, it was not enough to draw an enforceable arbitration clause from the meeting minutes.