ALBUQUERQUE – The New Mexico Supreme Court has ruled against a nursing home agreement requiring residents to settle their most likely claims, setting a precedent for consumers to dispute arbitration agreements.
The ruling stems from a case against multiple defendants, including the Rehabilitation Center of Albuquerque for requiring all claims, including allegations of negligent care, to go to mediation and then move on to arbitration rather than to court, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
Arbitration is a less formal, private form of dispute resolution.
The agreement still allowed the facility to file lawsuits over its most likely claims, including disputes about the collection of money or discharge of patients.
The Supreme Court affirmed Monday that there was not enough evidence to show that the one-sidedness of the agreement was justified.
“We conclude that under New Mexico conscionability law a presumption of unfair and unreasonable one-sidedness arises when a drafting party excludes its likeliest claims from arbitration, while mandating that the other party arbitrate its likeliest claims,” Justice Shannon Bacon said. “This presumption stems from the lack of mutuality that correlates with overly one-sided contracts.”
The case will now be sent back to the 2nd Judicial District Court.
