Birl

This case involves claims of wrongful death of decedent Jerome Birl, elder abuse, and related causes of action brought against a nursing home facility and its owner. The issue on appeal is whether an arbitration clause should apply.

Defendants Heritage Care, LLC, doing business as Heritage Rehabilitation Center, and Roy Martinez (hereinafter collectively referred to as Heritage) appeal from the trial court’s denial of their petition to compel arbitration of the claims made by plaintiffs Areatha Birl (wife), Joyce Ashley (daughter) and Regina Birl-Curtis (daughter). We conclude that because (1) the other codefendants in the action (the hospital and doctors) are third parties unaffected by this arbitration agreement, and (2) plaintiffs alleged several causes of action in their individual capacity as third parties not bound by the arbitration agreement, the trial court did not misapply the law (Code Civ. Proc., § 1281.2, subd. (c)) or abuse its broad discretion in refusing to enforce the arbitration agreement to avoid the possibility of conflicting rulings on common issues of law or fact.

Therefore, we reject Heritage’s position that would have resulted in severing claims…