Cohen

*348 *846 INTRODUCTION

An attorney who had recommended that his clients and his law firm's retirement plan invest in two real estate companies sought to arbitrate claims *847 by his clients and the retirement plan against the companies, their parent company, and the parent company's chief executive officer. Only the lawyer's clients, the retirement plan, and the two real estate companies signed the operative arbitration agreements. After the two real estate companies agreed to arbitration, the trial court granted a petition to compel the nonsignatory parent company and its officer to arbitrate, and subsequently granted a petition to confirm the resulting arbitration award in favor of the attorney's clients.

To resolve the ensuing appeals and cross-appeals in this action, we hold (1) an attorney does not have standing to petition to compel arbitration of his clients' claims; (2) a signatory to an arbitration agreement can compel a nonsignatory parent company of a signatory subsidiary on an agency theory where (a) the parent controlled the subsidiary to such an extent that the subsidiary was a mere agent or instrumentality of the parent and (b) the claims against the parent arose…