Judge Rules That Arbitrator, Not The Court, Must Decide Whether Defendant Satisfied A Mediation Condition Precedent Prior To Instituting Arbitration

A Texas federal court in Nii-Moi v. McAllenHospitalist Group rejected a physician employee’s argument that his former employer waived a condition precedent to arbitration by failing to participate in a mediation proceeding mandated by the employment agreement. According to the court, the issue of waiver was for the arbitrator, not the court to decide. The court’s decision was perhaps preliminarily influenced by its observation that, “from the limited record,” the physician waived the mediation condition precedent by filing the lawsuit without first invoking the mediation process.