TX STATETexas Supreme Court
2018

Rsl Funding, LLC and Rsl Special-Iv Limited Partnership v. Rickey Newsome

569 S.W.3d 116Texas Supreme Court • Decided 2018Remanded
FLAGSHIPDispute ResolutionCited 103 times

HOLDING

A company tried to force arbitration of a dispute over structured settlement transfers, but lower courts refused. The Texas Supreme Court ruled that when parties agree to let an arbitrator decide whether disputes are arbitrable, courts must honor that agreement and send the case to arbitration. This matters to subcontractors because many construction contracts include similar arbitration clauses that delegate arbitrability decisions to arbitrators.

KEY FINDINGS

Dispute Resolution

If your contract says the arbitrator decides what disputes are arbitrable, courts will enforce that—don't expect judges to block arbitration by claiming a dispute isn't arbitrable.

FULL COURT OPINION