Case Name: LANDIS CONSTRUCTION CO., INC. v. HEALTH EDUCATION AUTHORITY of Louisiana
Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1978-05-10
Citations: 359 So. 2d 1045
Docket Number: No. 8757
Parties: LANDIS CONSTRUCTION CO., INC. v. HEALTH EDUCATION AUTHORITY of Louisiana.
Judges: Before REDMANN, LEMMON and GU-LOTTA, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 359
Pages: 1045–1046

Head Matter:
LANDIS CONSTRUCTION CO., INC. v. HEALTH EDUCATION AUTHORITY of Louisiana.
No. 8757.
Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.
May 10, 1978.
Rehearing Denied June 30, 1978.
Joseph E. Friend, Dodge, Friend, Wilson & Spedale, New Orleans, for plaintiff-ap-pellee.
George G. Kiefer, Kiefer, Glorioso & Fleming, New Orleans, for defendant-appellant.
John A. Stewart, Jr., New Orleans, for Associated General Contractors of La., Inc., amicus curiae.
Before REDMANN, LEMMON and GU-LOTTA, JJ.

Opinion:
REDMANN, Judge.
A construction contract between a business corporation and a governmental agency contained a stipulation for arbitration of disputes. Neither the corporation's nor the public agency's resolution authorizing the contract included express authority to stipulate for arbitration. On this appeal from a judgment ordering the public agency to arbitrate, we hold that the contractual stipulation for arbitration was not authorized by either party to the contract and is therefore unenforceable.
"[T]he power [of attorney] must be express . . . [to] refer a matter to arbi tration." La.C.C. 2997. Even the power to compromise "does not include that of submitting or referring to arbitrators." C.C. 2998.
The trial judge reasoned that apparent authority or ratification (by having arbitrated an earlier dispute) should bind both parties. We disagree. The Civil Code does not permit implied authority to bind to arbitration. Neither pre-contract actions nor a post-contract submission of one dispute constitutes "express" authority to manda-taries to bind either the corporation or the public agency to future arbitration of disputes.
Reversed at plaintiff's cost.