Opinion ID: 1844233
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The First Prong of Branch Grossly Favorable Terms

Text: As the trial court noted, the arbitration agreement included in the note and security agreement is identical to the arbitration agreement this Court found unconscionable in Branch. Thus, each of the provisions of the Branch arbitration agreement found to be grossly favorable to the lenders is also present in the Ashbys' arbitration agreement with American General Finance. Those provisions grossly favorable to American General Finance are: (1) the breadth of the arbitration agreement, which extends to every cause of action that might conceivably arise in favor of the Ashbys and that applies to every individual or entity against whom the Ashbys might bring a claim; (2) the provision purporting to invest the arbitrator with the threshold issue of arbitrability; (3) the provision reserving to American General Finance the right to a trial by jury while mandating that the Ashbys arbitrate any and every claim that might arise; and (4) the provision limiting the Ashbys' right of recovery for all species of damages to no more than five times the economic loss while preserving American General Finance's right to seek full redress for its claims. We agree with the trial court that the arbitration agreement contained in the note and security agreement is grossly favorable to American General Finance. Accordingly, Mrs. Ashby has met the first prong of the Branch unconscionability test.