{"id":67066,"date":"2026-01-07T12:18:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T12:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dinsmore.com\/?post_type=publications&#038;p=67066"},"modified":"2026-01-30T13:38:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T19:38:17","slug":"ohio-court-signals-caution-for-nursing-homes-relying-on-arbitration-agreements","status":"publish","type":"publications","link":"https:\/\/www.dinsmore.com\/publications\/ohio-court-signals-caution-for-nursing-homes-relying-on-arbitration-agreements\/","title":{"rendered":"Ohio Court Signals Caution for Nursing Homes Relying on Arbitration Agreements"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In a recent Ohio appellate decision, the Ninth District Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court\u2019s order denying a skilled nursing facility\u2019s motion to enforce arbitration where the resident\u2019s guardian of person signed a stand-alone arbitration agreement.<a href=\"#_ftn1\" id=\"_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a> The decision underscores that arbitration agreements are treated as contracts separate from resident care agreements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The arbitration agreement was signed by the resident\u2019s daughter in her capacity as guardian of person. A guardian of person is appointed to manage the daily life decisions of a resident and is authorized by law to make decisions that include where the resident will live and what kind of treatment and care they will receive.<a href=\"#_ftn2\" id=\"_ftnref2\">[2]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this case, the resident also had a guardian of estate who signed separate paperwork related to the resident\u2019s admission to the facility but did not sign the arbitration agreement. A guardian of estate is appointed to manage a resident\u2019s assets and has statutory authority to file or defend lawsuits brought against, or on behalf, of the resident.<a href=\"#_ftn3\" id=\"_ftnref3\">[3]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although the arbitration agreement broadly covered disputes arising from or related to the resident\u2019s care, the court found that it did not reference the \u201cmedical, health, or other professional care, counsel, treatment, or services\u201d that a guardian of person is authorized to approve under R.C. 2111.13. Instead, it was an agreement to \u201cutilize arbitration and\/or arbitration to resolve legal claims,\u201d which falls squarely within the duties of a guardian of estate under R.C. 2111.14.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Providers are encouraged to verify the legal authority of all guardians before executing contracts by reviewing the letters of guardianship to ensure the signatory has the authority to enter into a legally binding agreement. Relatedly, it is in the best interest of a provider to verify the legal authority of an agent acting under the power of attorney agreement before executing contracts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have any questions or need strategic review of your resident care and arbitration agreements, do not hesitate to contact your Dinsmore healthcare attorney.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" id=\"_ftn1\">[1]<\/a> <em>Barker v. Arbors at Stow<\/em>, 2025-Ohio-5769.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref2\" id=\"_ftn2\">[2]<\/a> O.R.C. 2111.13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref3\" id=\"_ftn3\">[3]<\/a> O.R.C. 2111.14.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a recent Ohio appellate decision, the Ninth District Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court\u2019s order denying a skilled nursing facility\u2019s motion to enforce arbitration where the resident\u2019s guardian of person signed a stand-alone arbitration agreement.[1] The decision underscores that arbitration agreements are treated as contracts separate from resident care agreements. The arbitration agreement\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":67067,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"publication-type":[12],"class_list":["post-67066","publications","type-publications","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","publication-type-legal-alerts"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.5 (Yoast SEO v26.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ohio Court Signals Caution for Nursing Homes Relying on Arbitration Agreements - Dinsmore &amp; Shohl<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ohio Court Signals Caution for Nursing Homes Relying on Arbitration Agreements Read insights and legal analysis from attorneys at Dinsmore &amp; Shohl LLP.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dinsmore.com\/publications\/ohio-court-signals-caution-for-nursing-homes-relying-on-arbitration-agreements\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ohio Court Signals Caution for Nursing Homes Relying on Arbitration Agreements\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ohio Court Signals Caution for Nursing Homes Relying on Arbitration Agreements Read insights and legal analysis from attorneys at Dinsmore &amp; 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