A Kansas federal court has enforced an arbitration agreement within a terminated contract, finding that the claims arose out of the prior contract and that the parties expressed no intent to terminate the arbitration agreement.

In Strasburg-Jarvis Inc. v. Radiant Systems, Inc., (No. 06-2552-CM), 2008 WL 627486 (D. Kan. Mar. 4, 2008), clothing company Strasburg-Jarvis entered into a contract to purchase a license for certain software. Synchronics held certain trademarks and other assets related to the software. A dispute arose over the software, and the contracts between Strasburg and the owners of the software – including Synchronics – were terminated.

When Strasburg sued, Synchronics argued that the claims were related to the parties' contract and were subject to the contract's arbitration agreement. Strasburg maintained that the arbitration agreement only contemplated disputes during the life of the contract, and had terminated since the agreement did not contain a survival clause.

The Court found that the agreement was broad, covering not only the claims arising out of the purchase of the software, but also those out of services rendered during installation. Since Strasburg accused Synchronics of making false representations about the software and of failing to complete installation, the claims were clearly within the scope of the agreement.

Furthermore, the Court found that the arbitration agreement survived the termination of the parties' contract. The Court found Strasburg had presented no evidence that the parties expressly wanted the arbitration agreement to cease at contract termination. Without that evidence, all disputes arising under the previous contract remained arbitrable, whether or not the parties utilized a survival clause in the contract. See, e.g., Riley Mfg. Co. v. Anchor Glass Container Corp., 157 F.3d 775, 781 (10th Cir. 1998).