Faro

BACKGROUND

After Buyers purchased a home from Seller in December 2016, a question arose whether Seller “failed to disclose that the home had problems with water intrusion.” Buyers requested the parties mediate the dispute, without success. Buyers then filed a civil action in the trial court, and Seller moved to compel arbitration pursuant to the Agreement. The trial court granted Seller’s motion, observing it was “undisputed by the parties that there is an agreement to arbitrate.” The Agreement Paragraph No. 22A of the Agreement, concerning mediation, provides: “MEDIATION: The Parties agree to mediate any dispute or claim arising between them out of this Agreement, or any resulting transaction, before resorting to arbitration or court action . . . . If, for any dispute or claim to which this paragraph applies, any Party (i) commences an action without first attempting to resolve the matter through mediation, or (ii) before commencement of an action, refuses to mediate after a request has been made, then that Party shall not be entitled to recover attorney fees, even if they would otherwise be available to that Party in any such action. . . . Exclusions from this mediation…