Read the Contract! Why Do Courts Ignore Arbitration Agreement Provisions?

By Leslie King O’Neal

Read the Arbitration Agreement !

Urban Air Jacksonville v. Hinton—Court Ignores Arbitration Agreement

In Urban Air Jacksonville, LLC v. Hinton[ii] Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeal upheld a broad arbitration agreement.[iii] The plaintiff sued for damages from a slip and fall in the bathroom at the Urban Air trampoline facility. Before entering the facility, plaintiff signed a waiver which included arbitration for all disputes under AAA Rules.[iv] Urban Air moved to compel arbitration. Plaintiff argued the arbitration agreement did not cover his personal injury claim, asserting no nexus between the arbitration clause and the activity being regulated. However, the trial court ignored the arbitration agreement’s specific language stating issues of arbitrability were to be arbitrated, and ruled the arbitration agreement did not cover plaintiff’s claims.[v] Denying the motion to compel, the trial court found the injury did not arise from the contractual relationship, but was merely incidental to it. This is surprising since the 5th DCA noted that, “The arbitration agreement specifically covered injuries from “slipping, falling or tripping.” It also covered Plaintiff’s use of ‘any part of the premises’.”[vi]

5^th DCA Compels Arbitration, Ignores Delegation Clause

Reversing the trial court, the Fifth District Court found the arbitration agreement covered Plaintiff’s personal injury claim. Surprisingly, although the appellate decision quotes the entire arbitration clause (see endnote iii below), the court did not mention the delegation clause.

The appellate court noted, “[T]he question whether the parties have submitted a particular dispute to arbitration, i.e., the ‘question of arbitrability’ is an issue for judicial determination [u]nless the parties clearly and unmistakably provide otherwise.”[vi] However, the Fifth District’s opinion doesn’t cite the U.S. Supreme Court’s later opinion in Rent-A-Center West v. Jackson,[viii] where SCOTUS recognized that parties could delegate threshold issues, such as arbitrability, to the arbitrator.

If Contract Has Valid Delegation Clause, Arbitrator Decides Arbitrability Issues

The appellate court somehow overlooked that the arbitration agreement here specifically stated that disputes about the “scope, arbitrability or validity of the arbitration agreement are to be “settled by binding arbitration.” An earlier post discussed a recent 11^th Circuit case where the court held, “when contracts contain arbitration clauses with valid delegation provisions, courts must send all arbitrability disputes to arbitration.”[ix]

11th Circuit Holds Clickwrap Arbitration Clause Valid

Incorporating Arbitration Rules = Delegation to Arbitrator

The Florida Supreme Court (and other courts)[x] have held that, if “an arbitration agreement incorporates the AAA (or JAMS) rules by reference, this is evidence the parties delegated threshold issues, such as arbitrability, to the arbitrator.” [xi] In AirBnB v. Doe,[xii] the Florida Supreme Court held that referring to the AAA Rules in an arbitration agreement is sufficient to delegate these issues to the arbitrator.

Takeaways

• Read arbitration agreements carefully—is there a delegation clause?
• Remember that incorporating arbitration rules may delegate gateway issues to the arbitrator
• Don’t assume trial courts or appellate courts are familiar with arbitration & arbitration cases
• See prior post: Getting the Right Stuff in Arbitration Agreements for drafting tips

Getting the “Right Stuff” in Arbitration Agreements

---

[i] First Options of Chicago, Inc. v. Kaplan, 514 U.S. 938 (1995)

 [ii] 415 So.3d 1212 (5^th DCA 2025). Urban Air Jacksonville, LLC v. John Hinton :: 2025 :: Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal Decisions :: Florida Case Law :: Florida Law :: U.S. Law :: Justia

[iii]  The dispute resolution clause provides:

7. Dispute Resolution

 A. Arbitration. ANY DISPUTE OR CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT, BREACH THEREOF, THE PREMISES, ACTIVITIES, PROPERTY DAMAGE (REAL OR PERSONAL), PERSONAL INJURY (INCLUDING DEATH), OR THE SCOPE, ARBITRABILITY, OR VALIDITY OF THIS ARBITRATION AGREEMENT (DISPUTE) SHALL BE BROUGHT BY THE PARTIES IN THEIR INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY, AND SETTLED BY BINDING ARBITRATION BEFORE A SINGLE ARBITRATOR ADMINISTERED BY THE AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION (AAA). (emphasis added).

[iv] The trial court and the appellate court ignored the arbitration agreement language delegating issues of the scope, arbitrability or validity to the arbitrator. Because the arbitration agreement delegated these issues to the arbitrator, the courts should not have considered arbitrability, but should have compelled arbitration on this issue. This would have eliminated the trial court ruling and the subsequent appeal.

[v] See note iii, supra.

[vi] Urban Air Jacksonville v. Hinton at ___

[vii] Citing Mercedes Homes, Inc. v. Colon, 966 So. 2d 10, 14 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007) (second alteration in original) (quoting Howsam v. Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc., 537 U.S. 79, 83 (2002)).

[viii] 561 U.S. 63 (2010).

[ix] Lamonaco v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc., (Case No: 24-11270, 11th Circuit, July 3, 2025) https://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/202411270.pdf

[x] E.g. Reunion West Development Partners, LLLP v. Guimaraes, 221 So. 3d 1278 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017); Glasswall, LLC v. Monadnock Construction, Inc., 187 So. 3d 248, 251 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016). The AirBnB decision noted: “All of the federal circuit courts of appeal to consider the issue have consistently agreed that incorporation by reference of arbitral rules into an agreement that expressly empower an arbitrator to resolve questions of arbitrability clearly and unmistakably evidences the parties’ intent to empower an arbitrator to resolve questions of arbitrability.” (citations omitted).

[xi] See AAA Rule R-7(a): Arbitrator has power to rule on own jurisdiction, including existence, scope or validity of arbitration agreement or arbitrability of any claim without need to refer such matters to a court.

JAMS Construction Arbitration Rule 11(b) provides: “Jurisdictional and arbitrability disputes, including disputes over the formation, existence, validity, interpretation or scope of the Agreement under which Arbitration is sought, and who are proper Parties to the Arbitration, shall be submitted to and ruled on by the Arbitrator. The Arbitrator has the authority to determine jurisdiction and arbitrability issues as a preliminary matter.

[xii] 336 So.3d 698 (Fla. 2022) https://law.justia.com/cases/florida/supreme-court/2022/sc20-1167.html