Celtic Life Insurance Co. v. Brown

Supreme Court of Alabama
Celtic Life Insurance Co. v. Brown, 850 So. 2d 322 (Ala. 2002)
2002 Ala. LEXIS 320
Houston, Lyons, Brown, Johnstone, Harwood, Woodall, Stuart, Moore

Celtic Life Insurance Co. v. Brown

Opinion of the Court

HOUSTON, Justice.

The sole issue in these consolidated appeals is whether the Barbour Circuit Court erred when it denied the appellants’ motions to compel arbitration on the basis that the relevant arbitration agreement bars the arbitrator from awarding punitive damages (although the right to enforce this provision was waived) and contains no severability clause. The initial briefs in this case were filed before the release of our decision in Ex parte Celtic Life Insurance Co., 834 So.2d 766 (Ala. 2002), which involved the same arbitration agreement and the same issue, and which is therefore dispositive of these appeals. In accordance with Ex parte Celtic Life Insurance Co., we reverse the trial court’s order denying the appellants’ motions to compel arbitration and remand the cases for further proceedings.

REVERSED AND REMANDED.

LYONS, BROWN, JOHNSTONE, HARWOOD, WOODALL, and STUART, JJ., concur. MOORE, C.J., dissents.

Reference

Full Case Name
CELTIC LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY v. Barry R. BROWN and Kimberly Brown E. Graham Stokes v. Barry R. Brown and Kimberly Brown
Cited By
1 case
Status
Published