THE HONORABLE MICHAEL CORDONNIER Missouri Cases

Seth Schermerhorn filed a personal injury lawsuit, which the circuit court stayed after compelling arbitration and delegating the issue of arbitrability to an arbitrator. Schermerhorn sought a writ of mandamus, arguing the circuit court erred in compelling arbitration. The appellate court quashed its preliminary writ, holding that the incorporation of AAA Commercial Arbitration Rules in the parties' agreement provided clear and unmistakable evidence of intent to delegate arbitrability. The court further ruled that general challenges to the arbitration agreement's validity were insufficient to prevent enforcement of the specific delegation provision.