The Fifth Circuit, in Allen v. Vaksman Law Offices, P.C., summarily reversed the U.S. District Court for denying a law firm’s motion to compel arbitration of a former client’s claims. The lower court’s denial of arbitration was solely predicated on, as the appellate court described it, a finding “only that [plaintiff] Allen plausibly denied the existence of a valid arbitration agreement.”
Subtly reminding the lower court of its obligation on remand, the appellate panel noted “[t]here is no reason to doubt that the district court will, as [defendant] Vaksman requests, hold ‘an evidentiary hearing and [make] a factual finding based on the preponderance of the evidence as to whether there exists a valid and binding arbitration agreement between the parties.'”
positivelyneutral.com 