Supreme Court of Florida

An arbitration provision contained in a contract, which is void under Florida law, cannot be separately enforced while there is a claim pending in a Florida trial court that the contract containing the arbitration provision is itself illegal and void ab initio.

Appellate Information

• Decided 01/20/2005
• Published 01/20/2005

Judges

• ANSTEAD, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of Florida

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• E. Clayton Yates, Fort Pierce, FL, F. Paul Bland, Jr., Washington, D.C., Christopher C. Casper of James, Hoyer, Newcomer and Smiljanich, P.A., Tampa, FL, and Richard A. Fisher, Cleveland, TN, for Petitioner., Deborah M. Zuckerman, AARP Foundation, Washington, D.C., and Lynn Drysdale, Florida Legal Services, Inc., Jacksonville, FL on behalf of AARP, Consumer Federation of America and National Consumer Law Center;  and Daniel S. Pearson, Lenore C. Smith, and Scott B. Newman of Holland and Knight, LLP, Miami, FL on behalf of The Check Cashing Store, Inc., for Amici Curiae.


• For Appellees:
  
• John R. Hart of Carlton Fields, P.A., West Palm Beach, FL, Amy L. Brown, James P. Wehner of Squire, Sanders and Dempsey, LLP, Washington, D.C. and Pierre H. Bergeron of Squire, Sanders and Dempsey, LLP, Cincinnati, OH, for Respondent.