Opinion ID: 531286
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Gracie Moore

Text: 15 Investors contend that the court cannot compel Gracie Moore to arbitrate her claims because she did not see or execute the Agreement. Appellants' Brief at 4. We are unable to discern from the briefs and the record what Investors mean when they refer to the Agreement. The complaint contains a claim by Gracie Moore for breach of contract, and the only contract referred to in the complaint is a customer agreement. Complaint at 5. In her response to Merrill Lynch's motion to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 9(b), 12(b), and 12(e), Ms. Moore represented that she had execute[d] an agreement authorizing Merrill Lynch ... to act as [her] broker. Brief in Opposition to Motion to Dismiss at 3. In Merrill Lynch's answer to the complaint, it admitted the execution of the agreement referred to in Investors' complaint. R.I, tab 30, Answer p 11 at 2. In its counterclaim, Merrill Lynch alleged the execution by Ms. Moore of the Standard Option Agreement, and attached a copy thereto. Because the answer to the counterclaim was not designated as a part of the record, we do not know what facts, if any, Ms. Moore pled at that point. Merrill Lynch then filed its first motion to compel arbitration based upon the Standard Option Agreement. Motion to Compel Arbitration, Exhibit B. In her response to this motion, Ms. Moore, by affidavit, denied the execution of the Standard Option Agreement. Merrill Lynch thereupon filed a supplemental brief in support of its reply wherein it set forth the Customer Agreement executed by Gracie Moore. Ms. Moore responded with an affidavit stating she had never seen the document and the signature thereon was not hers. R.I, tab 43. In short, the case appears to present contradictory pleadings and inconsistent arguments by Investors. 16 Investors' lack of clarity, however, does not impair our ability to resolve the issue. Based upon the evidence, the district judge found that Investors, including Gracie Moore, executed both the Standard Option Agreements and the general Customer Agreements. The court further found that both of the agreements contained arbitration clauses. See fn. 1, supra. Investors do not argue the trial court's findings are clearly erroneous. They merely assert that arbitration is dependent upon the voluntary agreement of the parties and deny that Gracie Moore had ever seen the Standard Option Agreement. Appellants' Brief at 3-4. As Investors' brief is silent concerning the issue of whether or not Ms. Moore executed the Customer Agreement, we can only assume that Investors have abandoned this argument, and we must therefore conclude the trial court's findings concerning the Customer Agreement are correct. 17 We are left with an incomplete record and have no basis for a proper review of the trial court's factual determinations. We may not set aside trial court's findings on appeal unless they are clearly erroneous. Equal Employment Opportunity Comm'n v. General Lines, Inc., 865 F.2d 1555, 1558 (10th Cir.1989). Findings are not to be determined clearly erroneous unless, after a review of the entire record, we are left with a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made. Zenith Radio Corp. v. Hazeltine Research, Inc., 395 U.S. 100, 123, 89 S.Ct. 1562, 1576, 23 L.Ed.2d 129 (1969). In the instant case, the district court judge had before him copies of both of the agreements, each bearing the signatures of the Investors, including Gracie Moore. The record contains evidence to support the finding that the Investors each executed the Customer Agreement. If the error alleged is a factual error, Investors have the obligation to designate it as such. Investors bear the burden of persuasion that the trial court committed error, and as they have failed to allege or demonstrate error in the record they have failed to meet their burden.