A customer sued Merrill Lynch, its employee, and affiliated companies over investment losses. The Texas Supreme Court ruled that claims against the employee must go to arbitration because they're really claims against Merrill Lynch, which had an arbitration agreement. However, claims against affiliate companies without their own arbitration agreements cannot be forced into arbitration. The court stayed the litigation against affiliates until arbitration with Merrill Lynch was complete. This matters to subcontractors because it shows courts will enforce arbitration clauses based on the substance of claims, not how they're labeled, and that affiliated companies may not be bound by a parent company's arbitration agreement.
Make sure your arbitration clauses clearly identify all parties who should be bound—parent companies, subsidiaries, and employees. Courts won't extend arbitration agreements to entities not named in the contract.