On May 14, 2015, The court of Appeals second District of Texas, Fort Worth issued an opinion Ensign Group v. Mammen, No. 20-14-00317-CV. This case concerned an arbitration agreement Ms. Mammen signed when she worked for Savoy Healthcare. Ms. Mammen filed a lawsuit against her former employer, Savoy Healthcare, for giving a bad reference to a potential future employer. Savoy Healthcare argued the lawsuit was covered by an arbitration agreement signed by Ms. Mammen when she used to work at Savoy Healthcare and that the case should be arbitrated instead of being presented to a judge and jury. The district court disagreed with Savoy Healthcare and denied Savoy Healthcare's motion to compel arbitration. Savoy Healthcare appealed.
The Fort Worth Court of Appeals disagreed with the trial court, reversed the trial court's ruling and ordered the trial court to compel the parties to arbitration. The Court of Appeals found that the lawsuit was within the scope of the arbitration agreement even tough the facts giving rise to the lawsuit occurred after Ms. Mammen's employment had ended. The Court of Appeals also rejected Ms. Mammen's argument that the agreement was substantively unconscionable because Ms. Mammen could not afford the arbitration fees because she did not introduce any evidence of the cost of arbitration or her inability to afford arbitration.
Law Office of Jim Zadeh, P.C. handles employment related lawsuits and arbitration claims.
