In a short and sweet opinion issued just six weeks after argument, the Eighth Circuit yesterday held that an arbitrator was authorized to decide whether a non-signatory was able to arbitrate a dispute. Eckert/Wordell Architects, Inc. v. FJM Props. of Willmar, LLC, __ F.3d __, 2014 WL 2922343 (8th Cir. June 30, 2014).

The dispute was over the design and construction of a laser eye clinic in Minnesota. The contract containing the arbitration agreement was between the architects and Fischer Laser Eye Center, the owner of the property where the clinic would be. The shareholders of Fischer later formed a separate company to own and develop the land for the clinic, and that second company then changed its name to FJM Properties. When it discovered problems with ventilation, FJM Properties demanded arbitration with the architects. That arbitration proceeding went on for more than a year. Just a month before the evidentiary hearing, the architects objected to participating further, based on their assertion that they had no arbitration agreement with FJM Properties. The arbitrator found he had power to determine whether the parties had an arbitration agreement and invited briefing.

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