HOUSTON - The First Court of Appeals today directed a lower court to issue an order compelling arbitration in a discrimination case brought against Bakers Hughes.
Court records show Christopher Schneider sued Baker Hughes for employment discrimination. Relying on an agreement with Schneider, Baker Hughes moved to compel arbitration, which the trial court denied.
On appeal, Baker Hughes argued that the trial court abused its discretion by denying its motion to compel arbitration after the company made a prima facie showing that Schneider’s claims fall within the scope of a valid arbitration agreement.
The First Court found that mandamus relief is available to correct the trial court’s denial of Baker Hughes’s motion to compel arbitration.
“Because the parties do not dispute that there is a valid arbitration agreement or that the suit falls within the scope of the agreement, and instead only dispute the agreement’s enforceability, a question the agreement delegates to the arbitrator, the trial court abused its discretion by refusing to compel arbitration,” the opinion states.
“We conditionally grant Baker Hughes’s petition for a writ of mandamus and direct the trial court to promptly issue an order compelling arbitration of Schneider’s claims. The writ will issue only if the trial court fails to do so.”
Appeals case No. 01-22-00199-CV