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According to an Oklahoma federal district court, a lease agreement calling for arbitration of "all disputes hereunder" encompasses tort claims for types of damage in addition to those types specifically enumerated in the agreement.
In International Asset Management, Inc. v. Holt No. 06-CV-158-TCK-SAJ, 2007 WL 1407006 (N.D. Okla. May 9, 2007), the Holts entered into a lease with International Asset Management (IAM) whereby IAM leased several hundred acres of the Holt's land for oil and gas exploration. The Holts filed various tort claims against IAM. After the addition of a non-diverse defendant destroyed diversity, IAM sought an order to compel arbitration from the federal district court.
The Holts requested a jury trial to settle the arbitration agreement's validity. Additionally, the Holts argued that any claims related to damage caused to property other than crops fell outside the arbitration agreement's scope because the arbitration agreement only mentioned damage to crops.
The Court found that the arbitration clause covered the disputes pending in the state action. The Court held that the claims relating to whether IAM impermissibly remained on the land were "disputes hereunder" as described by the clause. Further, the negligence claims were "disputes hereunder" because the underlying events occurred while IAM conducted oil and gas exploration on the Holts' property.
Finally, the Court found that the arbitration agreement's scope was not limited to the types of property damage mentioned in the lease's language. Rather, the lease simply mentioned crop damage as an example of the type of claim covered by the arbitration clause.
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