Bigge Crane & Rigging Co.; Claus Frederiksen; Dp Engineering, Ltd.; John Scroggins; and Vei General Contractors…

Summary

The court affirmed the denial of Bigge’s motion to compel arbitration of Entergy’s negligence-related tort claims. It held that the circuit court, rather than an arbitrator, properly decided arbitrability because the agreement did not clearly and unmistakably delegate disputes between a signatory and a nonsignatory to arbitration, and it further held that Bigge was neither an intended third-party beneficiary nor entitled to invoke equitable estoppel. Justice Hart, concurring, agreed with the result but would have relied on the agreement’s exclusion of Entergy’s property and economic-loss claims against subcontractors.