Supreme Court of Texas

In a suit brought against a Merrill Lynch employee and affiliates raising claims related to an irrevocable life insurance trust, a petition for mandamus relief challenging a denial of motions to compel arbitration of the claims is conditionally granted where: 1) claims against defendant-employee must be arbitrated because such claims are in substance claims against Merrill Lynch; but 2) because there is no contract theory that ties defendants-affiliates to the same agreement, claims against them do not have to be arbitrated; and 3) to the extent the proceedings overlap, litigation must be stayed until the completion of arbitration.

Appellate Information

• Argued 03/23/2005
• Decided 08/24/2007
• Published 08/24/2007

Judges

• Justice BRISTER delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Chief Justice JEFFERSON, Justice GREEN, and Justice WILLETT joined, and in which Justice HECHT and Justice MEDINA joined as to Parts I, III-A, and IV, Justice O'NEILL joined as to Parts I, III, and IV, and Justice WAINWRIGHT and Justice JOHNSON joined as to Parts I, II, and IV.

Court

• Supreme Court of Texas

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Charles A. Gall, Joel Randall Sharp, Hunton & Williams LLP, Robert B. Gilbreath, Hawkins, Parnell & Thackston, LLP, Jeffrey L. Crouch, Melinda Morrell Hough, Jenkens & Gilchrist, P.C., Dallas, Jorge C. Rangel, Jon D. Brooks, The Rangel Law Firm, P.C., Corpus Christi, for Merrill Lynch Trust Company FSB, Merrill Lynch Life Insurance Company and Henry Medina., J.A. (Tony) Canales, Hector Antonio Canales, Nancy M. Simonson, Canales & Simonson, P.C., Corpus Christi, for Juan Alaniz.