Starnes attorneys, Alan Bean and Allen King obtained a favorable ruling by the Tennessee Court of Appeals in a decision announced on May 6, 2021. In this long term care liability case seeking compensatory and punitive damages, Plaintiffs allege that our client’s facility negligently hired, trained, and retained an employee who allegedly sexually assaulted a resident. After a two day evidentiary hearing which presented testimony from numerous fact and expert witnesses, the trial court granted our motion to compel arbitration, agreeing with our position that the resident possessed the requisite mental capacity to execute the POA used to execute the arbitration agreement. Therefore, the arbitration agreement was valid and enforceable. The Tennessee Court of Appeals affirmed the decision, reaching the same conclusion as the trial court.
