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A Missouri state court, applying Missouri procedural rules, refused to compel arbitration when the party bringing the motion to compel served notice on the opposing party only 24 hours before a scheduled hearing.
In Sitelines L.L.C. v. Pentstar Corp., No. ED 88579, 2007 WL 328581 (Mo. App. Feb. 6, 2007), Sitelines, a general contractor, hired subcontractor Pentstar to do work on an office center project. When Pentstar abandoned the uncompleted project, Sitelines brought an action for breach of contract.
Pentstar failed to respond to any discovery requests. Sitelines then filed a motion for summary judgment, to which Pentstar also failed to respond. The afternoon before the hearing on the summary judgment motion, Pentstar's counsel faxed a motion to dismiss or compel arbitration to Sitelines' counsel.
Sitelines argued that the motion to compel arbitration should not be granted because notice of the proceeding was not served with a "reasonable time" before the proceeding. The Court agreed and refused to compel arbitration.
Because the procedural provisions of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) do not bind state courts, the Court applied Missouri procedural rules, which requires written motions to be served at least five days before a proceeding, or, if notice has been given in less time than five days, within a reasonable time.
Pentstar clearly did not serve the notice within the five-day requirement, and the Court held that Pentstar did not serve the notice within a reasonable time frame. Because of Pentstar's delay in serving the motion to compel arbitration, Sitelines had less than a day to respond. The Court also noted that the motion to compel arbitration raised issues that were completely different from Sitelines' motion for summary judgment, and the short amount of notice did not allow Sitelines time to prepare to address these issues.
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