Daniels

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Norma Daniels sued Sunrise Senior Living, Inc., and other defendants, 1 the owners and operators of a residential care facility for the elderly (RCFE) 2 known as Sunrise of Hemet (Sunrise), for elder abuse and related claims (the survivor claims) as the successor in interest of her late mother, Margaret Barcenas. (Code Civ. Proc., §§ 377.20, 377.31.) 3 Daniels alleged that Barcenas, who was elderly and suffered from “dementia with psychosis,” died as a result of receiving inadequate care at Sunrise. In her personal capacity, Daniels alleged an additional cause of action against defendants for the wrongful death of Barcenas. (§ 377.60.)

Defendants petitioned the trial court to compel arbitration of all of the claims pursuant to the arbitration clause in a “residency agreement” Daniels entered into with Sunrise Senior Living, Inc., as Barcenas’s attorney in fact, but not in her personal capacity. Under the arbitration clause, all claims related to the care Barcenas received at Sunrise are subject to binding arbitration, and the clause is expressly binding on B arcenas’s heirs and representatives. The court denied the petition and refused to order…