Benthin

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

For about two years before her death, Geneva Benthin (Benthin) lived at Emeritus at Westwind Gardens, a residential care facility for the elderly that is managed and operated by Emeritus Corporation. We refer to Emeritus at Westwind Gardens and Emeritus Corporation collectively as “Emeritus.”

1 As part of the paperwork for Benthin’s admission to Emeritus in August 2008, Benthin’s daughter, Joyce Root (Root), signed a Resident Agreement and checked two boxes on the agreement indicating that Root was the responsible party and had power of attorney to act on Benthin’s behalf. On that same day, Root signed an “Agreement to Resolve Disputes by Binding Arbitration” (Arbitration Agreement) as Benthin’s “authorized representative.” As relevant here, the Arbitration Agreement required arbitration of claims arising out of Emeritus’s provision of services or its acts or omissions that cause injury. Root also presented Emeritus with two powers of attorney: a “Uniform Statutory Form Power of Attorney” and a “California Advance Health Care Directive Including Power of Attorney for Health Care.” The documents were purportedly signed by Benthin, but Benthin’s…