Jane Doe v. Columbia North Hills Hospital Subsidiary, L.P., Columbia North Texas Subsidiary GP, LLC, and HCA Health Services of Texas, Inc., 2017 Tex. App. LEXIS 2536

Columbia North Hills Hospital and affiliates maintained a 2006 Mandatory Binding Arbitration Policy (governed by the FAA) posted on an employee intranet called "Compliance 360."
Jane Doe was hired in August 2012, attended new-employee orientation, and signed acknowledgements stating she would review hospital policies on Compliance 360 and had been oriented to "Problem solving/Grievance Procedures."
Doe alleged she was sexually assaulted at work in October 2012 and sued the Hospital, affiliates, and the assailant for harassment, retaliation, and negligence.
Appellees moved to compel arbitration; the trial court compelled arbitration, the arbitrator awarded in favor of Appellees, and the trial court confirmed the award. Doe sought vacatur and appealed the confirmation.
On appeal Doe argued she never had notice of nor accepted the Arbitration Policy; Appellees relied on the intranet posting, orientation references, and Doe’s acknowledgements to show notice.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether a valid arbitration agreement existed because Doe lacked notice and acceptance	Doe: No express notice of or assent to the arbitration policy; she never signed or was told about it	Appellees: Policy was posted on intranet, employees told about intranet, and Doe acknowledged ability/responsibility to review policies — this implies notice and assent	Court: No. Mere posting and general orientation statements did not give Doe actual or implied notice of the arbitration policy as a matter of law; arbitration agreement unenforceable
Whether remand requires an evidentiary hearing	Doe: No factual dispute about the existence of the relied-upon evidence; only dispute is legal sufficiency	Appellees: There is a factual dispute requiring an evidentiary hearing	Court: Remand required for further proceedings, but no evidentiary hearing necessary because no genuine fact issue about the asserted evidence existed

In re Dallas Peterbilt, Ltd., L.L.P., 196 S.W.3d 161 (Tex. 2006) (employee notice and acceptance required for enforceable arbitration agreement)
In re AdvancePCS Health L.P., 172 S.W.3d 603 (Tex. 2005) (party seeking to compel arbitration must establish a valid arbitration agreement)
J.M. Davidson, Inc. v. Webster, 128 S.W.3d 223 (Tex. 2003) (strong presumption favoring arbitration does not apply when deciding existence of a valid arbitration agreement)
Jack B. Anglin Co. v. Tipps, 842 S.W.2d 266 (Tex. 1992) (summary proceeding standard for motions to compel arbitration)
In re Labatt Food Serv., L.P., 279 S.W.3d 640 (Tex. 2009) (abuse-of-discretion review of trial court’s arbitration ruling; de novo review of legal questions)
Hathaway v. Gen. Mills, Inc., 711 S.W.2d 227 (Tex. 1986) (notice requires knowledge of policy terms and certainty of their imposition)