ARBITRATION-WRONGFUL DEATH-AUTHORITY TO SIGN

Adams v. Mt. Leb. Operations, LLC, 2022 Pa. Super. LEXIS 236 (May 27, 2022) (Murray, J.) For an arbitration agreement between a nursing facility and a resident’s purported power of attorney agent to be valid, there must be an agency relationship between the resident/principal and the POA agent.  The nursing home has the duty to prove what authority, if any, the signatory had at the time of the signed admission agreement.  The mere fact that the signatory was aware of the possibility of a power of attorney is not sufficient.  Nursing home has failed to prove that Adams had any authority to bind the decedent to an arbitration agreement and therefore the arbitration agreement was not valid.