Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at Good Shepherd, LLC Ecumenical Care and Rehabilitation Center, LLC Central Arkansas Nursing Centers, Inc. Nursing Consultants, Inc. Michael Morton Bobby Lamb in His Capacity as Administrator of Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at Good Shepherd, LLC Katie Baldwin in Her Capacity as Director of Nursing of Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at Good Shepherd, LLC And John Does I–v v. Judith White, as Special Administratrix of the Estate of Ella Holmes and on Behalf of the Wrongful Death Beneficiares of Ella Holmes, 689 S.W.3d 684

Ella Holmes was admitted to the Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at Good Shepherd in 2015; her daughter, Doris Wilson, signed the admission and arbitration agreements as "Responsible Party."
Wilson did not possess a power of attorney, guardianship, or any formal legal authority over Holmes.
Holmes herself did not sign the admission or arbitration agreements.
After Holmes's death in 2017, Judith White (Holmes's sister and special administratrix of her estate) filed suit, alleging inadequate care and related claims.
Defendants (Good Shepherd) sought to compel arbitration based on the agreement signed by Wilson; the trial court denied the motion, finding Wilson lacked authority to bind Holmes.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Wilson had authority to bind Holmes to arbitration	Wilson lacked formal authority; no agency relationship existed	Wilson had actual authority based on Holmes's permission	Wilson had no actual authority; agreement invalid
Sufficiency of the arbitration agreement’s mutuality	Lacked mutual obligations and was unenforceable	Agreement was mutually binding and enforceable	Court did not reach this issue
Applicability of the FAA and public policy favoring arbitration	Not a valid contract, so FAA doesn't apply	FAA and public policy require arbitration	Invalid agreement, FAA not reached
Burden of proving agency	Good Shepherd failed to prove agency	Affidavit showed actual authority	Burden not met; no agency

Courtyard Gardens Health & Rehab., LLC v. Quarles, 2013 Ark. 228 (agency requires explicit authorization; lack thereof is fatal to binding a third party to arbitration)
Innisfree Health & Rehab, LLC v. Jordan, 2020 Ark. App. 518 (agency is not presumed; burden of proof lies with the party asserting agency)
Robinson Nursing & Rehab. Ctr., LLC v. Phillips, 2019 Ark. 305 (elements of enforceable arbitration agreements under Arkansas law)