Bank of the Ozarks, Inc., and Bank of the Ozarks, Appellants v. Robert Walker, Ann B. Hines, and Judith Belk, Appellees

Summary

The court held that the circuit court could not deny the motion to compel arbitration on unconscionability grounds without first determining whether the parties formed a valid arbitration agreement. It reversed and remanded for findings on contract formation, the scope of any arbitration agreement, and only then any applicable defense to enforcement, while vacating the court of appeals' opinion. Justice Courtney Hudson Goodson, dissenting, would have affirmed because the Bank failed to prove that the appellees received notice of or assented to the arbitration provision.