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A California appellate court denied a nursing home’s motion to compel arbitration, because the court determined that the nursing home had waived its right to compel arbitration by participating in the litigation process.
In Roland v. Covenant Care of California, Inc., No. C056658, 2008 WL 4817016 ( Cal. Ct. App. Nov. 6, 2008), Roland spent time recovering from knee surgery at Covenant Care, a nursing home and rehabilitation facility. Roland later sued Covenant Care. In response, Covenant Care moved to compel arbitration based on an arbitration agreement with Roland. The trial court denied Covenant Care’s motion on the basis that Covenant Care had actively participated in the litigation process and failed to seek arbitration until trial was imminent.
On appeal, Covenant Care argued that the trial court erred in denying arbitration on the basis of waiver. The Court considered the record to determine whether or not Covenant Care had sufficiently engaged in the litigation process to waive its right to compel arbitration.
The Court noted that the ultimate question was whether Covenant Care unreasonably delayed in undertaking the procedure to obtain arbitration. Both parties conducted extensive discovery, and Covenant Care issued several subpoenas for all records and documents relating to Roland’s health care insurance plan.
Meanwhile, Roland filed a motion for trial date preference due to his frail health and old age. Covenant Care, while opposing this motion, did not mention arbitration. In fact, nearly six months went by before Covenant Care even brought a motion to compel arbitration.
The Court could find no justification for Covenant Care’s delay. Accordingly, the Court affirmed the lower court order denying arbitration on the basis of waiver.
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