Trial Court's Denial of Defendants' Motion to Compel Arbitration Upheld on Appeal Because Family Member Who Signed Arbitration Agreement Was Not Authorized to Do So

The Tennessee Court of Appeals has issued its opinion in Williams v. Smyrna Residential, LLC, No. M2021-00927-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 8, 2022). The syllabus form the slip opinion reads:

This appeal concerns the enforceability of an arbitration agreement in a wrongful death lawsuit. James Williams [], individually as next of kin and on behalf of the wrongful death beneficiaries of Granville Earl Williams, Jr., deceased [], sued Smyrna Residential, LLC d/b/a Azalea Court and Americare Systems, Inc. [] n the Circuit Court for Rutherford County []. Decedent was a resident of Azalea Court, an assisted living facility. Plaintiff alleged his father died because of Defendants’ negligence. Defendants filed a motion to compel arbitration, citing an arbitration agreement [] entered into by Decedent’s daughter and durable power of attorney Karen Sams [] on behalf of Decedent when the latter was admitted to Azalea Court. Notably, the durable power of attorney [] did not cover healthcare decision-making. The Trial Court held that Sams lacked authority to enter into the Agreement and that, in any event, the wrongful death beneficiaries would not be bound by the Agreement even if it were enforceable. Defendants appeal. We affirm. 

Here is a link to the opinion:

https://www.tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/james.williams.opn_.pdf.

NOTE: The Tennessee Supreme Court has reversed this opinion. That opinion from SCOTN can be found at this link, to wit: http://theduncanlawfirm.blogspot.com/2024/04/new-scotn-case-trial-courts-decision.html.