Opinion ID: 1732352
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: whether the parties agreed to arbitrate

Text: ¶ 11. In the appellant's brief, Tammy's counsel unquestionably focuses the majority of his argument on Tammy's minority status; however, in discussing the various issues, Tammy acknowledges the basic law on arbitration as discussed by this Court in interpreting the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) and in applying the decisions of the United States Supreme Court. In the course of this discussion, Tammy asserts, inter alia, that under Mississippi law, the courts, when determining whether a dispute is subject to arbitration . . . must first ask (1) whether the parties had a valid agreement in arbitration and (2) whether the specific dispute falls within the substantive scope of that agreement. Tammy undergirds this statement by citing our decision in East Ford, Inc. v. Taylor, 826 So.2d 709, 713 (Miss.2002). Tammy also cites Thomson-CSF, S.A. v. American Arbitration Association, 64 F.3d 773, 776 (2nd Cir.1995), which stated: Arbitration is contractual by naturea party cannot be required to submit to arbitration any dispute which he has not agreed so to submit. United Steelworkers of America v. Warrior & Gulf Navigation Co., 363 U.S. 574, 582, 80 S.Ct. 1347, 4 L.Ed.2d 1409 (1960). Thus, while there is a strong and liberal federal policy favoring arbitration agreements, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. v. Soler Chrysler-Plymouth, Inc., 473 U.S. 614, 625, 105 S.Ct. 3346, 87 L.Ed.2d 444 (1985) (quotations omitted), such agreements must not be so broadly construed as to encompass claims and parties that were not intended by the original contract. Id. at 776. ¶ 12. Captain D's likewise states, [w]hen evaluating a motion to compel arbitration it must be shown that a valid agreement to arbitrate exists and whether the dispute in question falls within the scope of that arbitration agreement. Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. v. Gaskamp, 280 F.3d 1069, 1073 (5th Cir.2002). ¶ 13. This Court's decision in today's case follows on the heels of our recently-decided opinion in Rogers-Dabbs Chevrolet-Hummer v. Blakeney, 950 So.2d 170 (Miss.2007). In Rogers-Dabbs, we once again set out the well-established responsibility of the courts when confronted with arbitration issues by stating that the courts must first determine whether the parties have agreed to arbitration of the dispute and if it is determined that they have, then a determination must be made as to whether legal constraints external to the parties' agreement foreclosed arbitration of those claims. Id. at 173 (quoting Mitsubishi Motors Corp. v. Soler Chrysler-Plymouth, Inc., 473 U.S. 614, 626, 105 S.Ct. 3346, 87 L.Ed.2d 444 (1985)). See also East Ford, 826 So.2d at 713. ¶ 14. Since our decision today turns on the first prong (whether the parties agreed to arbitrate the dispute), we focus only on this prong. As we have noted on prior occasions, this first prong has two sub-factors: (1) whether there is a valid arbitration agreement and (2) whether the parties' dispute is within the scope of the arbitration agreement. Rogers-Dabbs, 950 So.2d at 173 (quoting East Ford, 826 So.2d at 713). In Rogers-Dabbs, the vehicle purchaser, Blakeney, executed various documents relating to the purchase, including an arbitration agreement wherein Blakeney agreed with the dealer, Rogers-Dabbs, to submit to arbitration all claims, demands, disputes or controversies of every kind or nature between them arising from, concerning or relating to the transaction, including negotiations, financing arrangements, extended warranties, performance of the vehicle, or any other aspect of the vehicle and its sale, lease, or financing. Id. at 174. Blakeney eventually sued Rogers-Dabbs under several theories, asserting that the car dealer's employee(s) had engaged in a fraudulent scheme to use Blakeney's identity to obtain forged titles to stolen vehicles, resulting in Blakeney never receiving title to his vehicle. Rogers-Dabbs filed a motion to compel arbitration based on the arbitration clause in the consumer contract, and the trial court denied the motion to compel arbitration. On appeal, we affirmed the trial court's denial of the motion to compel arbitration. This Court found that the parties' dispute was not within the scope of the arbitration agreement. Id. at 178. In reaching this conclusion, the Court stated that while the purchaser no doubt had agreed to arbitrate claims originating from (or relating to) the sale of the vehicle, no reasonable person would agree to submit to arbitration any claims [taking the claims as alleged to be true for the sake of argument] concerning a Hummer to which he would never receive a title; a scheme of using his name to forge vehicle titles and bills of sale to sell stolen vehicles; and the commission of civil fraud against him by misappropriating his title to the Hummer he purchased and forging his name on fake titles and bills of sale on various stolen vehicles . . . Id. at 177. Although we found the existence of a valid arbitration agreement, we found, on the other hand, that the dispute between the purchaser and dealer was not within the scope of the arbitration agreement. Thus, we found that the car dealer had failed to satisfy the first prong of East Ford, that being whether the parties had agreed to arbitrate the dispute. Id. at 176, 178. ¶ 15. Turning to the facts of today's case, Captain D's Employment Dispute Resolution Plan stated, inter alia: [B]oth Captain D's and I agree to settle any and all previously unasserted claims, disputes, or controversies arising out of or relating to my application for employment, employment and/or cessation of employment with Captain D's, exclusively by final and binding arbitration before a neutral Arbitrator. By way of example only, such claims include claims under federal, state and local statutory or common law, such as the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, including the amendments of the Civil Rights Act of 1991, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, the law of contract and law of tort. I understand that if I do file a lawsuit regarding a dispute arising out of or relating to my application for employment, employment, or cessations (sic) of employment, Captain D's may use this Agreement in support of its request to the court to dismiss the lawsuit and require me to use arbitration. Just as in Rogers-Dabbs, there is no fervent effort to attack the validity of the arbitration agreement which Tammy signed, other than the assertion of disaffirmance. Therefore, we quickly move to the first prong's second consideration  whether the parties' dispute is within the scope of the arbitration agreement. Rogers-Dabbs, 950 So.2d at 176 (citing East Ford, 826 at 713). In determining the scope of the arbitration agreement, [c]ourts often characterize arbitration language as either broad or narrow. MS Credit Ctr., Inc. v. Horton, 926 So.2d 167, 175 (Miss.2006). The United States Supreme Court has found similar language  any controversy or claim arising out of or related to  to constitute a broad arbitration provision. Smith Barney, Inc. v. Henry, 775 So.2d 722, 726 (Miss.2001) (citing Prima Paint Corp. v. Flood & Conklin Mfg. Co., 388 U.S. 395, 406, 87 S.Ct. 1801, 18 L.Ed.2d 1270 (1967)). Because broad arbitration language is capable of expansive reach, courts have held that it is only necessary that the dispute touch matters covered by the contract to be arbitrable. Horton, 926 So.2d at 176 (internal quotation marks omitted). Further, relate means to stand in some relation; to have bearing or concern; to pertain; refer; to bring into association with or connection with; with to. Black's Law Dictionary 892 (Abridged 6th ed. 1991). ¶ 16. The question of scope is narrowed to whether Tammy's rape claim arises out of or relates to [Tammy's] application for employment, employment, and/or cessation of employment with Captain D's, so as to subject Tammy's sexual assault claim to arbitration. While recognizing the breadth of the language in the arbitration provision, we unquestionably find that a claim of sexual assault neither pertains to nor has a connection with Tammy's employment. ¶ 17. In sum, we find that Tammy's sexual assault claim against Captain D's and its employee is clearly not within the scope of the arbitration agreement; therefore, Captain D's fails to satisfy the first prong of East Ford (whether the parties have agreed to arbitrate the dispute). Rogers-Dabbs, 950 So.2d at 178. Likewise, as we found in Rogers-Dabbs, our action today does not offend the Federal Arbitration Act by remanding this case for a full trial on the merits of the case. Id. ¶ 18. For the reasons stated, we find this issue to have merit, and since this issue is dispositive, we deem it unnecessary to address the other issues raised on appeal.