Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

A short mandamus opinion from the Dallas Court of Appeals highlights a limit on the ability of courts to interfere with arbitration. In this case, the trial court stayed the arbitration and ordered the relator to dismiss it because the parties did not have an agreement to arbitrate. But the Texas Arbitration Act only authorizes a court to stay arbitration, not to order that it be dismissed. The Court of Appeals therefore directed the trial court to vacate the dismissal order, but leaving the stay in place while the litigation apparently moves forward in the trial court.

In re Seven Hills Commercial, LLC, No. 05-13-01340-CV