Opinion ID: 1907602
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Did the Chancery Court Err in Denying Defendants' Motion to Compel Arbitration?

Text: ¶ 15. Barry Doleac, The Doleac Company and The Doleac Building assert that the chancery court erred in denying the motion to compel arbitration because the dispute arises out of contracts which contain an arbitration clause. REP alleges that the arbitration clause is contained in only one of the contracts and the dispute does not arise out of this one contract. Thus, it maintains that these claims are outside the scope of the arbitration clause. ¶ 16. This Court conducts de novo review on both motions to dismiss and motions to compel arbitration. Sullivan v. Mounger, 882 So.2d 129, 132 (Miss.2004) (citing East Ford, Inc. v. Taylor, 826 So.2d 709, 713 (Miss.2002)). In determining the validity of a motion to compel arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act, courts generally conduct a two-pronged inquiry. The first prong has two considerations: (1) whether there is a valid arbitration agreement and (2) whether the parties' dispute is within the scope of the arbitration agreement. Id. The second prong considers whether legal constraints external to the parties' agreement foreclosed arbitration of those claims. Id.