918 So. 2d 634 | Miss. | 2005
for the Court.
¶ 1. This matter is on appeal after a ruling by the Circuit Court of Holmes County granting the plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment and for declaratory judgment finding that the plaintiffs had no obligation to arbitrate their disputes with the defendants. Having considered the defendants’ appeal (see 9 U.S.C. § 16(a)(2) & (3)), we affirm the circuit court because the issues raised have been decided against the defendants in Prepaid Legal Services, Inc. v. Battle, 873 So.2d 79 (Miss.2004). We also remand this matter for further proceedings.
DISCUSSION
¶ 2. Claude Anderson, Jr., and 86 other plaintiffs
¶ 3. The defendants responded that all of the contracts entered into by the plaintiffs contained an arbitration provision in nine point font on the fifth of six pages as follows: “K. Settlement of Disputes: In the event of a dispute, the parties will agree on an impartial attorney who will decide such dispute and that decision will be binding on all parties to such dispute.”
¶ 4. We have considered this exact arbitration clause on four different occasions.
CONCLUSION
¶ 5. Because the issues raised in the appeal have been resolved in earlier cases, we affirm the judgment of the Circuit Court of Holmes County, Mississippi, and remand this case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
¶ 6. AFFIRMED AND REMANDED.
. Ina Alamonte, Sherron Barnes, Bobby Bell, Alex Berry, Joy Braden, Laura Bradley, Catherine Brooks, Michelle Brown, Shelby Carmichael, Tracey Crawford, John Cummings, Johnny Davis, Keith Davis, Sr., Melton Daw-kins, Harriet DeJarnett, Russell Douglass, Mildred Eaves, Flora Elerby, Anthony Evans, Debbie Evans, Larry Evans, James Everette, John Fairley, Amy Michelle Fisher, Nancey Fondren, Wanda Fox, Ollie Franklin, Beverly Gaddis, Barbara Ann Gathright, Lavonne Gordon, Dave Grayson, Tony Ham, Nathan Harding, Cennie Hardy, Shirley Harper, Janice Harris, Rebecca Lynne Hasson, Corine Hickman, Minnie Inge, Kathy Ivey, Brenda Jones, Chester Jones, Estella Jones, Frances
. In fact, the defendants admit in their brief that "[t]his Court has previously ruled in four cases involving essentially the same issues under essentially the same facts.''