Supreme Court of Texas

In a dispute brought by the jilted buyer of a car dealer's business against a manufacturer and its assignee for interfering with the proposed contract of sale, a trial court's refusal to compel arbitration is reversed where, although defendants had no contract with the jilted buyer, it was error to find that the jilted buyer was not equitably estopped from refusing to arbitrate with defendants and that the claims against defendants were not intertwined with claims against the dealer.

Appellate Information

• Argued 03/23/2005
• Decided 12/22/2006
• Published 12/22/2006

Judges

• Justice HECHT delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Chief Justice JEFFERSON, Justice WAINWRIGHT, Justice BRISTER, Justice MEDINA, Justice GREEN, Justice JOHNSON, and Justice WILLETT joined.

Court

• Supreme Court of Texas

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Robert S. Morris, Virginia Nelson Hammerle, Hammerle Finley PC, Denton, Preston W. McGee, Flower Davis PLLC, Tyler, Billy Martin Donley, Pengcheng Glen Shu, James Keith Russell, Baker & Hostetler LLP, Houston, for Petitioner.


• For Appellees:
  
• Clayton E. Dark Jr., Lufkin, Darrin M. Walker, Law Office of Darrin Walker, Kingwood, Joe Scott Evans, Evans and Kitchens, L.L.P., Groveton, for Respondent.