HOUSTON - Yesterday, the 14th Court of Appeals concluded that a trial court did not abuse its discretion when it denied a home builder’s motion to compel arbitration in a personal injury lawsuit.
Court records show Mohammad Rafiei filed suit against Lennar Homes of Texas last year, alleging that he was severely injured when a garbage disposal in his home exploded. Rafiei and his wife purchased the home from Lennar in 2018. The sales contract for the house contained an arbitration provision.
Lennar Homes filed a motion to compel arbitration, which was denied by the trial court, court records show.
On appeal, Lennar Homes argued that Rafiei failed to establish the affirmative defense of unconscionability.
The 14th Court affirmed the denial, finding that the trial court could have concluded that the arbitration agreement and the delegation clause within the arbitration agreement were both unconscionable.
“Arbitration is intended to be a lower cost, efficient alternative to litigation,” the opinion states. “Yet the evidence in this case establishes the opposite.
“There is no provision in the arbitration agreement that would cap the amount Rafiei might be required to pay in the initial phase addressing the delegation clause, nor in the second stage if the dispute was submitted to the three-arbitrator panel for final resolution.”
Case No. 14-21-00431-CV