Nursing home arbitration agreements
Marmet Health Care Center v. Brown
In brief
The Supreme Court wiped out the West Virginia court's judgment and sent the cases back for more proceedings.
- Where it stands
- Decided
Decided · February 21, 2012 · Per curiam
- What it’s about
- The children of nursing-home patients sued the homes for negligence after the patients died in their care; West Virginia’s high court held that agreements the children signed requiring arbitration were invalid under public policy.
- Who it affects
- The West Virginia judgment is wiped out, and the children's cases return to that court; the order does not itself resolve their negligence claims.
Summary: written with AI from the case record.
What it's about
The Supreme Court wiped out that judgment (vacated it) and sent the cases back for further proceedings (remanded).
The dispute concerns arbitration agreements covering personal-injury and death claims involving nursing-home care.
Question presented
Did the state court err when it held that the arbitration clauses were invalid due to public policy?
What the Court decided
Holding
The judgment of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia is vacated, and the cases are remanded for proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.
- Result
- Vacated
The vote
- Majority author
- Per Curiam
What's next
The cases return to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia for further proceedings consistent with the Supreme Court's opinion.
Documents
Opinions
Docket activity
New analysis added
AI analysis generated: Case Briefing
AI analysis generated: Decision Record
Case data updated: summary, question_presented, generation_metadata
Case data updated: question_presented, extraction_metadata
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Case data updated: title, status, lower_court, opinion_date
Opinion added: Brown
Sources
Primary materials plus reporting. Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.