Courtland Building Company, Inc. v. Jalal Family Partnership, Ltd, Sohail Jalal, Individually and Yasmeen Jalal, Individually, 403 S.W.3d 265

Courtland Building Company, Inc. sought to compel arbitration and stay court proceedings under a broad arbitration clause in a written construction contract.
The contract required mediation first, then binding AAA arbitration under Construction Industry Rules, with Texas law and the FAA applying.
Courtland sued the Jalals, the Jalal Management Trust, and the Jalal Family Partnership for multiple contract-based and tort claims.
The Jalals, Family Partnership, and related entities counterclaimed for breach of contract and Chapter 27 property-code violations.
Courtland moved to compel arbitration and abate litigation; the trial court denied the motion.
The appellate court reverse-re remands to compel arbitration and determine stays for non-arbitrable claims after comparing arbitration scope and waiver issues.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether a valid arbitration agreement exists and covers the claims	Courtland argues contract signs show broad arbitration covering most claims	Property Owners contend some claims fall outside scope or are fraudulent-transfer claims	Yes; arbitration agreement exists and covers most claims asserted
Whether Courtland waived the arbitration right by mediation motion	Courtland did not waive arbitration; mediation allowed	Waiver shown by substantial invocation of litigation	No; no waiver established; strong presumption against waiver barred by evidence
Whether trial court should stay litigation of non-arbitrable claims pending arbitration	All claims within arbitration should proceed; others pending need stay if overlap exists	Some claims not moved to arbitration may require separate handling	Remand to determine stays; order to compel arbitration and stay those claims that are arbitrable; decide on stays for fraudulent-transfer and declaratory-judgment claims if overlapping with arbitration

In re Rubiola, 334 S.W.3d 220 (Tex. 2011) (legal question of validity of arbitration agreement; de novo review)
In re D. Wilson Constr. Co., 196 S.W.3d 774 (Tex. 2006) (scope of arbitration and standard of review)
J.M. Davidson, Inc. v. Webster, 128 S.W.3d 223 (Tex. 2003) (burden-shifting to enforce arbitration under FAA)
In re Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc., 166 S.W.3d 732 (Tex. 2005) (direct benefits estoppel applies to non-signatories)
In re FirstMerit Bank, N.A., 52 S.W.3d 749 (Tex. 2001) (non-signatory's claims based on contract subjects to arbitration)
Prudential Sec. Inc. v. Marshall, 909 S.W.2d 896 (Tex. 1995) (strong presumption in favor of arbitration)
Osornia v. Amerimex Motors & Controls, Inc., 367 S.W.3d 707 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2012) (broad arbitration clause favored if clause not excluded by explicit terms)
In re Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., 315 S.W.3d 888 (Tex. 2010) (arbitration preferred when issues overlap with litigation)
In re Merrill Lynch Trust Co. FSB, 235 S.W.3d 185 (Tex. 2007) (arbitration priority when issue likely resolved there)
Perry Homes v. Cull, 258 S.W.3d 580 (Tex. 2008) (waiver is hard; factors considered case-by-case)
EZ Pawn Corp. v. Mancias, 934 S.W.2d 87 (Tex. 1996) (no waiver where litigation conduct not prejudicial)
In re Automated Collection Techs., Inc., 156 S.W.3d 557 (Tex. 2004) (waiver not shown by late-stage defense participation)