Arredondo v. SNH SE Ashley River Tenant, LLC

**What Happened** This case involved a dispute over whether an arbitration agreement was valid at Ashley River Plantation, an assisted-living facility. When resident Hubert Whaley moved into the facility, his attorney-in-fact (someone legally authorized to act on his behalf) Thayer Arredondo signed an arbitration agreement with the facility. Arbitration agreements require disputes to be resolved through private arbitration rather than in court. Later, when a legal dispute arose, the facility tried to enforce this arbitration agreement to avoid going to court. **What the Court Decided** The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that the arbitration agreement was invalid and unenforceable. The court found that Arredondo, acting as attorney-in-fact, did not have the proper legal authority to sign the arbitration agreement on Whaley's behalf. This overturned a lower court decision that had said the agreement was valid. **Why This Matters for Workers** This ruling protects workers and residents in care facilities by ensuring that arbitration agreements cannot be improperly signed by third parties. It means that just because someone has power of attorney doesn't automatically give them authority to sign away another person's right to go to court. Workers should know that arbitration agreements must be properly executed to be enforceable.