Brannock Berman & Seider Wins Reversal in Arbitration Appeal

The Second District Court of Appeal overturned a trial court’s denial of arbitration in a complex commercial dispute, agreeing with Brannock Berman & Seider’s arguments that the claims fell within the governing contract’s broad arbitration clause.

The case arose from a securities-related lawsuit filed by two investors in an immuno-oncology company. The lawsuit brought claims for fraudulent inducement, negligent misrepresentation, and violations of Florida’s Securities and Investor Protection Act. As relief, it sought to rescind the investors’ agreements with the company.

The company moved to compel arbitration, citing a clause in the agreements requiring “all controversies” that “may arise between the parties concerning” the agreements to be arbitrated. The trial court denied that request, finding that the tort and statutory claims raised did not arise from the agreements and therefore were outside the scope of the arbitration clause. The Second District reversed.

The appellate court embraced the company’s position, advanced by Brannock Berman & Seider, that the lawsuit’s claims were inextricably intertwined with the agreements, arose from the formation of those agreements, and required consideration and reference to the terms of the agreements to be resolved. Thus, the appellate court sent the case to arbitration.