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In Carter v. SSC Odin Operating Co., LLC, a special administrator of a former nursing home resident’s estate asserted claims under the Nursing Home Care Act (“NHCA”) and the Wrongful Death Act (“WDA”). The nursing home operator filed a motion to compel arbitration that was denied by the trial court because of the agreement lacked “mutuality of obligation” and the plaintiff was a nonsignatory to the arbitration agreement in her personal capacity. Eventually, the Illinois Supreme Court held that general contract principles only require consideration for a valid arbitration agreement, not “mutuality of obligation.” The Court also held that a wrongful-death claim was not an “asset” of resident's estate that the resident could limit via an arbitration agreement, but the special representative was bound to arbitrate survivor claims based on the NHCA.
Recommended Citation
Joshua Bower, Bifurcated Proceedings in Illinois: Survivor Actions to Arbitration but Wrongful Death Claims to Litigation, 5 Arb. L. Rev. 305 (2013).