Arbitration Agreement With Home Contractor Does Not Extend To Purchasers’ Children

The Texas Court of Appeals confronted a motion to compel arbitration involving claims “that the new home purchased by Jack and Erin from homebuilder Taylor Woodrow was defectively constructed, causing mold to grow in the home.” In Taylor Morrison of Texas Inc. v. Skufca, the court held that the claims by the purchasers’ children were not required to be arbitrated, as they were not signatories to the arbitration agreement, nor were they third party beneficiaries. “Although the children lived in the home before suit was filed, that would, at most, render them incidental beneficiaries of the contract, not third-party beneficiaries.”