 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Global Travel Marketing7/7/2005
We have for review a decision of the Fourth District Court of Appeal in which the court certified a question of great public importance:
Whether a parent's agreement in a commercial travel contract to binding arbitration on behalf of a minor child with respect to prospective tort claims arising in the course of such travel is enforceable as to the minor.
Shea v. Global Travel Mktg., Inc., 870 So. 2d 20, 26 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003). We have jurisdiction. See art. V, ยง 3(b)(4), Fla. Const. As phrased by the Fourth District, the issue is narrow, touching only upon binding arbitration and not on any broader contractual waiver of a tort claim brought on behalf of a minor. For the reasons that follow, we determine that the arbitration provision in this commercial travel contract is not unconscionable, in violation of any statutory prohibition, or void as against public policy. Because the mother in this case had authority to enter into this contract on behalf of her minor child, the arbitration provision is valid and enforceable. Accordingly, we answer this narrow question in the affirmative and quash the decision below.
I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
This case arises from a lawsuit brought by Mark R. Shea (the father) over the tragic death of his eleven-year-old son, Mark Garrity Shea (Garrit), during an African safari that Garrit took with his mother, Molly Bruce Jacobs. Before the trip, Garrit's mother signed a travel contractfor the African safari on behalf of herself and her son with Global Travel Marketing. The contract called for Global Travel to provide Jacobs and Garrit a twenty-five-day safari in Zimbabwe and Botswana at a cost of approximately $39,000. The travel contract contained provisions concerning travel documents, medical contingencies, and the travel company's refund and cancellation policy. The contract included an arbitration clause:
Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement, or the making, performance or interpretation thereof, shall be settled by binding arbitration in Fort Lauderdale, FL, in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association . . . .
Regarding Garrit, the contract specifically provided:
I, as parent or legal guardian of the below named minor, hereby give my permission for this child or legal ward to participate in the trip and further agree, individually and on behalf of my child or ward, to the terms of the above.
After Garrit's death, the father, who was named personal representative of his son's estate, brought suit on behalf of the estate and for both parents as survivors under Florida's wrongful death statute. The complaint allegedthat Global Travel's failure to fulfill its duty to use reasonable care in operating the safari and warning of dangerous conditions caused his son's death. A jury trial was requested. Global Travel moved to stay the proceedings and compel arbitration of the father's claim. In response, the father argued that Jacobs, the mother, did not have legal authority to contract away Garrit's substantive rights through a release of liability and arbitration clauses. However, in a hearing on Global Travel's motion, counsel for the father acknowledged that the validity of the clause releasing Global Travel from liability was not then before the court, and would likely be an issue in the future. The trial court granted Global Travel's motion to stay the proceedings and compel arbitration, concluding that the arbitration provision bound Garrit's estate. The court did not determine whether the release of liability was enforceable.
The Fourth District reversed. Although it acknowledged that doubt as to the s
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Florida Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|