Mission Viejo Emergency Medical Associates v. Beta Healthcare Group

Plaintiffs Mission Viejo Emergency Medical Associates (MVEMA) and 12 physicians who are partners in MVEMA, sued defendants Health Providers Insurance Reciprocal, RRG (HealthPro), and Beta Healthcare Group (Beta) for breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing, breach of contract, and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Defendants moved to compel arbitration based on an arbitration provision in the insurance contract between the parties. The trial court denied the motion, ruling that the arbitration provision was unenforceable because it was not disclosed in the application for the policy. Defendants argue this was error, and we agree. The arbitration provision was clearly stated in the policy, and no provision of law requires disclosing an arbitration provision in an application for this type of insurance. We therefore reverse and direct the trial court to enter a new order granting defendants’ motion to compel arbitration.

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FACTS

The Parties and Insurance Policy

MVEMA is a general partnership with its principal place of business in Mission Viejo. (MVEMA and its partner physicians are collectively referred to as plaintiffs.)…