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An appellate court in Texas held that a party waived his right of objection to noncompliance with American Arbitration Association (AAA) rules by proceeding with the arbitration.
In Robinson v. West, No. 11-03-00028-CV, 2007 WL 926956 (Tex. App. Mar. 29, 2007), Malcolm Robinson was a partner in the law firm Robinson, West, and Gooden, P.C. Robinson filed suit against West and Gooden for various claims and sought dissolution of the law firm. The parties agreed to submit the dispute to arbitration.
West and Gooden filed an amended claim for relief that the law firm not be dissolved. The arbitration award did not dissolve the law firm. The trial court confirmed the award and Robinson appealed.
This Court reversed the trial court's judgment and compelled arbitration of the dissolution request. The Texas Supreme Court reversed this Court's decision and remanded for consideration of the parties' modification of the arbitration agreement and Robinson's potential waiver of his complaint regarding the scope of the arbitration agreement. See West v. Robinson, 180 S.W.3d 575 (Tex. 2005).
The Court affirmed the trial court's confirmation of the award. Robinson did not object to West and Gooden's counterclaim that the law firm not be dissolved. He was required to object at the time he filed his answer under the AAA rules. By proceeding with the arbitration, Robinson waived any right to object he may have had.
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