MSO, LLC v. DeSimone

Summary

The court held that the trial court improperly treated the arbitration clause as controlling regardless of whether the defendants had waived their right to arbitrate. Because waiver may be implied through litigation conduct and requires a fact-specific prejudice inquiry, the record was adequate to review the trial court's legal ruling, but the matter had to be remanded for a new hearing. The court also held that the appeal was not moot because the trial court could provide practical relief by denying the stay and vacating the resulting arbitration award.