|
Nearly five years and one fully completed jury trial after a complaint was filed against a homebuilder, the Georgia Court of Appeals has held that the dispute may nevertheless be subject to arbitration.
In Langfitt v. Jackson, No. A06A2428, 2007 WL 914330 (Ga. Ct. App. Mar. 28, 2007), Jackson contracted with Langfitt to build his home. When Jackson sued over alleged problems with workmanship and materials, Langfitt filed a motion to compel arbitration pursuant to the terms of the Home Buyers Warranty (HBW). The trial court denied the motion.
When the case ended with a jury verdict in favor of Jackson, Langfitt filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, and again sought an order compelling arbitration. The trial court denied the motion. On appeal, however, the Court ruled that at least one of the claims was arbitrable under the terms of the HBW. Accordingly, the Court remanded the other claims back to the trial court for determination of arbitrability.
In essence, the Court found that despite the passage of time and the jury verdict, Langfitt had not waived his right to arbitration as he had invoked that right prior to trial and afterward.
The Court was apparently unswayed by the fact that the efficiencies of arbitration are lost when a party fails to appeal from an order denying arbitration, thus allowing the matter to culminate in a jury trial. Under these circumstances, since the homebuyer won at trial, the Court's interpretation of the waiver rule may give the homebuilder "a second bite at the apple."
Subscribe to a free weekly update on ADR case law and
legislation
|