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The Louisiana Court of Appeals held that under Louisiana law, a party may not unilaterally amend a sales contract to add an arbitration clause after the parties have already agreed to the contract terms.
In Quebedeaux v. Sunshine Homes, Inc., No. 06-349, 2006 WL 2871994 (La. Ct. App. Oct. 11, 2006), Quebedeaux and Sunshine entered into a mobile home purchase agreement. Under the purchase agreement, which did not contain an arbitration clause, Quebedeaux had to pay $15,000 in earnest money.
When the home was completed several weeks later, Sunshine refused to deliver the home until Quebedeaux signed an additional agreement containing an arbitration clause. After he discovered structural problems with the home, Quebedeaux sued for breach of contract. Sunshine filed a motion to compel arbitration. The trial court denied the motion.
On appeal, the Court affirmed the trial court’s ruling based on Rodriguez v. Ed’s Mobile Homes of Bossier City, La., 889 S.2d 461 (La. Ct. App. 2004), which held that if parties agree upon the terms of a sales contract prior to closing, a party cannot unilaterally condition the closing on additional consideration, such as the signing of an arbitration agreement.
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