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Vicksburg Partners9/22/2005
nursing home, which receives services and goods from out-of-state vendors, takes in out-of-state residents, and receives payments from out-of-state insurance carriers, including federally-accredited Medicare/Medicaid programs.
. Thus, since the arbitration clause is a part of a contract (the nursing home admissions agreement) evidencing in the aggregate economic activity affecting interstate commerce, the Federal Arbitration Act is applicable and we, therefore, proceed with our discussion concerning whether the relevant contract and arbitration clause were unconscionable.
. In line with U.S. Supreme Court precedent, we will review the arbitration agreement in this case, paying close attention to the strong federal policy of favoring the enforcement of agreements to arbitrate. "Absent a well-founded claim that an arbitration agreement resulted from the sort of fraud or excessive economic power that 'would provide grounds for the revocation of any contract', the Arbitration Act 'provides no basis for disfavoring agreements to arbitrate statutory claims by skewing the otherwise hospitable inquiry into arbitrability.'"
Shearson/Am. Exp., Inc., 482 U.S. at 226, 107 S.Ct. at 2337 (citing Mitsubishi Motors Corp. v. Soler Chrysler-Plymouth, Inc.,473 U.S. 614, 627, 105 S.Ct. 3346, 3354, 87 L.Ed.2d 444 (1985)).
II. WHETHER THE CIRCUIT COURT PROPERLY RULED THAT THE ARBITRATION CLAUSE CONTAINED IN THE BODY OF THE PARTIES' ADMISSIONS AGREEMENT WAS PROCEDURALLY UNCONSCIONABLE.
. In denying Vicksburg Partners' motion to enforce arbitration and stay proceedings, the circuit court found that Stephens presented evidence to support her position that "had Mr. Taylor not signed the admissions agreement he would not have been accepted into the nursing home." Specifically, the circuit court found "that the conditions of the agreement were on a `take it or leave it' basis leaving the plaintiff with no bargaining power." The circuit court stressed that Vicksburg Partners failed to present any evidence that an applicant had ever been admitted despite refusing to acquiesce in the arbitration clause. Accordingly, the circuit court found that the arbitration clause created an unenforceable contract of adhesion and stated:
The Defendants [Vicksburg Partners] asked the Court at the hearing to take judicial notice that there were two(2) other nursing homes operating in the county at the time of Mr. Taylor's admission. Though that is a correct statement of fact, the Court must also take notice that the existence of nursing homes are limited by a statute which requires a Certificate of Need, prior to a nursing home being opened in a particular area. Therefore, the number of openings are limited, accompanied by long waiting lists for admission. After the plaintiff raised the issue and put on evidence in support of the issue, the Court inquired of the Defendants, if it could provide any contract of admission by the Nursing Home, where the arbitration clause had been refused by the applicant and the applicant was still admitted..... he Defendants at said hearing failed to produce any evidence to the contrary.
. In its order denying Vicksburg Partners' motion to compel arbitration, the circuit court clearly found that the subject contract was a contract of adhesion. While this finding is important, it is not in and of itself sufficient to substantiate a finding that the arbitration clause made the admissions agreement unconscionable per se. Thus, in addition to a finding that a contract is one of adhesion, a court must still determine whether the arbitration clause included in a contract of adhesion renders the agreement/contract unconscionable.
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