Opinion ID: 2507315
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Application of the Law to Each Case

Text: An Ohio court recently said: The fact that a resident is signing an arbitration agreement contemporaneously with being admitted into a nursing home is troubling. By definition, an individual being admitted into a nursing home has a physical or mental detriment that requires them to need the assistance of a nursing home. Further, the reality is that, for many individuals, their admission to a nursing home is the final step in the road of life. As such, this is an extremely stressful time for elderly persons of diminished health. [158] Like the Ohio court, we too are troubled by the admission agreements in the instant cases. The three residents in this case were admitted to the defendants' nursing home facilities, not because they wanted to be, but because they needed to be admitted as a result of physical and mental impairments. As a general matter, it was a stressful and confusing time for each resident's family. And buried in each admission agreement was an arbitration clause compelling each resident to give up their constitutional right to access to the courts to air their grievances. As we discuss below, we find that, as a matter of public policy, the arbitration clauseswhich were signed prior to the alleged occurrence of negligence that resulted in the person injury or wrongful death of a nursing home residentcannot be enforced to compel arbitration of the underlying disputes. As two of the drafters of the FAA said, Not all questions arising out of contracts ought to be arbitrated. [159] Alternatively, we find that two of the three arbitration clauses are, as a matter of law, unconscionable and unenforceable against the plaintiffs. In the third case, the circuit court did not consider the conscionability of the agreement, and only certified a question regarding the preemption of Section 15(c) of the Nursing Home Act by the FAA. Lastly, in the case of Clarence Brown, we address the circuit court's order dismissing the plaintiffs claims against landlord Canoe Hollow Properties.