In affirming an order staying arbitration of a credit card dispute, a Missouri appellate court found that the trial court did not err when it concluded that the cardholder's admission applied only to acknowledging the existence of a cardholder agreement and not to having entered into an arbitration agreement.

In Creech v. MBNA America Bank, N.A., No. 28453, 2008 WL 216311 (Mo. Ct. App. Jan. 28, 2007), credit card issuer MBNA filed an arbitration claim against cardholder Creech. Creech moved to stay arbitration, arguing no arbitration agreement existed between the parties. The trial court granted the motion. MBNA appealed, arguing that Creech made a judicial admission in his pleadings when he acknowledged signing a contract containing an arbitration agreement.

On appeal, the Court held that the trial court did not err when it ordered a stay of the arbitration proceedings. The Court found there was no judicial admission of an arbitration agreement because MBNA failed to admit the allegation in Creech's complaint pertaining to the arbitration agreement. Additionally, the trial court could construe the ambiguous language in Creech's "admission" as alleging the contract was one of adhesion rather than admitting to signing an arbitration agreement.

Moreover, the Court found "MBNA failed to provide any evidence to support its position by way of witnesses, documents affidavits, or deposition transcripts at the evidentiary hearing." According to the Court, since MBNA failed to show the original cardholder agreement, subsequent amendments it claimed to have mailed, or a signature evincing that an arbitration agreement existed between the parties, the trial court correctly ordered a stay of the arbitration proceedings.