Background
John L. Criswell and Heaven Bound Construction, LLC were parties to a construction contract containing a mediation-and-arbitration provision. The agreement also stated that an action in court for injunctive or other equitable relief would not waive either party’s right to arbitrate.
After Criswell terminated the contract, Heaven Bound notified him that it intended to arbitrate and filed suit to preserve its construction-lien claim. After service was perfected, and before litigating the merits, Heaven Bound moved to stay the court case and promptly demanded arbitration through the American Arbitration Association. The Monroe County circuit court granted the stay, and Criswell appealed the nonfinal order.
The Court’s Holding
The Third District affirmed. It held that competent, substantial evidence supported the trial court’s finding that Heaven Bound had not waived its contractual right to arbitration.
Waiver turns on the totality of the circumstances and requires conduct showing a voluntary and intentional relinquishment of the arbitration right. Here, Heaven Bound’s lien-preservation lawsuit was consistent with the contract’s express allowance for court proceedings, and its prompt request for a stay and demand for arbitration before merits litigation supported the finding of no waiver.
Key Takeaways
- A party seeking to avoid arbitration bears a heavy burden to establish waiver.
- Filing a court action to preserve construction-lien rights does not necessarily waive arbitration, particularly where the contract contemplates judicial relief.
- Promptly seeking a stay and initiating arbitration before merits litigation supports a finding that the arbitration right was preserved.
Why It Matters
The decision reinforces that Florida courts favor arbitration and assess waiver based on the parties’ overall conduct, rather than treating every court filing as inconsistent with arbitration. Construction parties should ensure their contracts address lien-preservation proceedings and should act promptly to invoke arbitration when a dispute arises.