Originally from:

Journal of American Arbitration (JAA) - Vol. 2, No. 2

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ARTICLES

“Fraud in the Inducement” or a “Meeting of the
Minds?”: the Fifth Circuit’s Application of
Contract Formation Principles to the Making of
an Arbitration Agreement in American Heritage
Life Insurance Co. v. Lang
By Patricia A. Krogman

I. OVERVIEW
The dispute arose over several loan agreements and insurance
contracts that Ellis B. Lang executed with Fidelity National Corporation
(Fidelity) on several occasions between 1993 and 2000.1 Lang, who has
a first-grade education, cannot read and can only write his own name.2
In connection with these contracts, Lang signed four identical arbitration
agreements with Fidelity over a three-year period.3 Each one of the
arbitration agreements were “stand-alone” agreements, meaning that
none was incorporated into the broader written contracts, but was
presented as a separate contract.4
A factual dispute arose at trial as to whether Lang knew he was
signing arbitration agreements.5 Affidavits signed by Jimmy Taggart