HOUSTON - The First Court of Appeals recently affirmed a ruling denying a plumbing company’s motion to compel arbitration, concluding that the company waived its right to arbitration.
In 2019, Lorrie Russell filed a breach of contract suit against Archimedes Inc., doing business as Village Plumbing.
According to Russell’s petition, she hired Village Plumbing to replace the pipes under a house she owned and rented out, but the company allegedly performed substandard work that caused additional damage to the house. When the company allegedly became unresponsive to her requests to fix the problems, Russell sued.
Court records show the parties filed agreed motions for continuance due to scheduling and logistical issues because of the COVID-19 shutdown. The trial court reset the case for trial on June 7, 2021. In March of that year, Russell filed a motion to quash Village Plumbing’s jury trial demand. Subsequently, Village Plumbing, for the first time, filed a motion to compel arbitration, filing the motion 33 days before the trial date.
The trial court denied the motion to compel arbitration. Village Plumbing appealed, arguing that the trial court erred.
On appeal, Village Plumbing argued that there is a valid arbitration agreement between the parties and that Russell did not meet her burden to prove Village Plumbing had waived its arbitration right. Russell, conversely, argued that Village Plumbing waived its right to compel arbitration by waiting nearly two years after she filed suit and until about a month before trial to assert that right, states the First Court’s June 7 opinion.
The First Court found that although the parties’ agreed motions for continuance both referred to the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns as one of the reasons for continuing the trial setting, the continuances do not explain why Village Plumbing did not assert its arbitration right sooner.
“In light of the apparent expenses incurred, potential damage to her legal position by switching to arbitration a month before trial, and unexplained 19-month delay, Russell has met her burden to show that she suffered prejudice as a result of Village Plumbing’s delayed request for arbitration,” the opinion states. “The trial court did not err in denying Village Plumbing’s motion to compel arbitration.”
Case No. 01-21-00222-CV