Opinion ID: 1613187
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Blue Ribbon's Burden of Proof

Text: The record before this Court establishes that an agreement to arbitrate exists in a contract relating to a transaction substantially affecting interstate commerce. Ex parte Greenstreet, supra. We recently held that [a]n Alabama resident's purchase of a new mobile homeeven one manufactured in Alabamacan be a transaction that substantially affects interstate commerce, and the evidence indicates that the McCrays' purchase of their mobile home was such a transaction. Southern Energy Homes, Inc. v. McCray, 788 So.2d 882, 883 (Ala.2000). In McCray, the evidence before the Court established that, although Southern Energy manufactured mobile homes within Alabama, the funds it used to conduct business came from banking institutions located out of state and many of the parts incorporated into the mobile homes were acquired from suppliers outside of Alabama and were shipped in interstate commerce to Southern Energy's plant in Alabama. Id. at 883 n. 1. As was the case in McCray, Blue Ribbon presented evidence indicating that Bell and Hill's purchase of the mobile home affected interstate commerce. Affidavits provided by Thomas Deas, Blue Ribbon's president, provide, in pertinent part: [1] The transaction [between Blue Ribbon and Bell and Hill] involved interstate commerce in a number of ways, including that the goods which were used in the manufacturing process of the subject mobile home were manufactured in other states and were involved in interstate commerce. In addition, the financing for the purchase of the subject home involved a foreign corporation, whose principal place of business was not located in the State of Alabama. The home did not come from the manufacturer with an air conditioning unit. Blue Ribbon Homes sold and installed the air conditioning unit in question. At the time this home was sold to [Bell and Hill], Blue Ribbon Homes purchased the air conditioning units that it installed from Stylecrest Products, Inc., 65 Industrial Court E, Villa Rica, Georgia. Blue Ribbon Homes sold Kenneth Bell and Valerie Hill a kitchen table and four chairs, a sofa, chairs, and an end table. At the time of this sale, all furniture items sold by Blue Ribbon Homes were purchased from Lafort Wholesale Furniture, 5250 Fulton Industrial Blvd., Atlanta, Georgia, or F.A. Hulett and Sons in Meridian, Mississippi. Blue Ribbon Homes handled the installation and the setup of Kenneth Bell and Valerie Hill's home. At the time this home was sold to Kenneth Bell and Valerie Hill, Blue Ribbon Homes purchased all of the anchors and straps that it used to tie the house down from either Stylecrest Products, Inc. in Villa Rica, Georgia, or from Kaufman Supply in Atlanta, Georgia. Kenneth Bell and Valerie Hill's home was sold with steps. At the time the home was sold to Kenneth Bell and Valerie Hill, Blue Ribbon Homes purchased all of its fiberglass steps from Stylecrest Products in Villa Rica, Georgia, or its wood steps from Gene's Step Company, Inc., located at 1079 Beltline Highway N.E., Brookhaven, Mississippi. Blue Ribbon also presented an affidavit of Larry Wilhite, the former manager of customer service for Bank America, the company that provided the financing for Bell and Hill's purchase of the mobile home; that affidavit states, in pertinent part: BankAmerica is a corporate Federal Savings Bank organized and existing under the laws of the state of Delaware, with its principal place of business in San Diego, California. Finally, testimony from Gary Mize, the human resources director and assistant to the president of Crimson Industries, revealed the following: Q: Gary, how may States does Crimson Industries do business in? A: As far as I know, 18 states. Q: And those are states in which Crimson sells homes directly to retail dealers in 18 different states? A: That's right. . . . . Q: And you said earlier that Crimson purchases products for the homes that have to travel to Alabama. What are some of the products that you have to purchase that go into the makeup of manufactured homes that come from out-of-state? A: Well, I mentioned earlier carpet. I don't think there's a carpet manufacturer in the State of Alabama. Tires. I'm surewell, we do have tire manufacturers in the state, but I don't think they manufacture home tires. Q: Okay. A: We use siding on our homes, and I don't think the siding is manufactured in the state. Some of our wood components, themselves, are shipped to us from out-of-state. Q: Does Crimson buy A: Shingles are made in Mississippi. . . . . Q: And you said earlier that the appliances are manufactured out-of-state and shipped in? A: That's right. We conclude that the evidence in this case indicates that Bell and Hill's purchase of the mobile home was a transaction that substantially affected interstate commerce. Therefore, Blue Ribbon properly supported its motion to compel arbitration and the burden of persuasion shifted to Bell and Hill to oppose that properly supported motion.