Employer's Failure To Respond Waives Written Arbitration Agreement

Employers with mandatory arbitration agreements should be careful to re-affirm their commitment to such arbitration agreements in light of a recent state court decision in Texas, Adock v. Five Star Rentals/Sales, Inc., No. 04-17-00531-CV.  The plaintiff in Adock was a former employee of Five Star, and he sent a pre-litigation demand letter to his former employer asserting a claim for worker's compensation retaliation. Adock also demanded to know whether there was an arbitration agreement between himself and his former employer.  The letter informed the former employer that Adock would pursue claims in court if there was no arbitration agreement.  Five Star failed to respond and Adock filed a lawsuit.  As part of discovery, the former employer produced an employment contract that contained a mandatory arbitration provision.  Adock informed Five Star he wanted to move the dispute to arbitration, but Five Star claimed Adock had waived his right to arbitrate by initiating