CHARLESTON — The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals agreed with a circuit court that a woman and her mother were not bound by an arbitration agreement.
The case involved Cynthia Hoover, who had admitted her mother, Elveria Faw, to The Villages at Greystone in Raleigh County, according to a June 15 Supreme Court opinion.
Hoover was not her mother’s attorney-in-fact in August 2017 when she admitted her to the assisted living residence, but she was her mother’s medical surrogate.
In 2019, Hoover sued Beckley Health Partners, Ltd., which is doing business as The Villages at Greystone; Chancellor Senior Management Ltd.; and Megan Ward Wilson, who was the residence manager.
Hoover, who by then was the attorney-in-fact for Faw, alleged that Faw had suffered injuries while a resident of Greystone due to the petitioners' negligence and the petitioners moved the circuit court to compel Hoover to arbitrate the claim.
The circuit court concluded that no valid arbitration agreement existed and denied the motion. The petitioners appealed that ruling.
Justice Beth Walker authored the majority opinion. Chief Justice John Hutchison was disqualified from participating. Justice Tim Armstead concurred in part and dissented in part. Judge Lora Dyer participated as a temporary assignment.
"The circuit court correctly applied our decision in State ex rel. AMFM, LLC v. King to conclude that Ms. Hoover lacked authority to bind her mother to the arbitration agreement," Walker wrote in the opinion.
The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s order and remanded the case for further proceedings.
In his separate opinion, Armstead wrote that while he concurred with most of the majority opinion's analysis, he believed that the state was bound by the residential and community arbitration agreement under estoppel and would have reversed the circuit court on that issue alone.
"There is no indication that Ms. Faw or Ms. Hoover ever rescinded the Arbitration Agreement, and Ms. Faw benefitted from the residential and care services provided by Petitioners pursuant to the Residency Agreement," Armstead wrote.
Armstead wrote that Hoover is estopped from denying the application of the arbitration agreement and the estate is bound by that arbitration agreement.
"Indeed, I believe that the majority opinion gives insufficient weight to the words 'shall govern any and all disputes of the parties' from the Residency Agreement," Armstead wrote.
West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals case number: 20-0680