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Journal of American Arbitration (JAA) - Vol. 5, No. 1

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Journal of American Arbitration (JAA)

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ARTICLES

A Question for the Arbitrator: The Texas
Court of Appeals Compels Arbitration of
Duress Claim in Service Corp. International
v. Lopez
By Seth Zimmerman

I. OVERVIEW
Daniel Lopez entered into three “pre-need” funeral contracts, for the
benefit of his father George Lopez, with Service Corporation
International, SCI Texas Funeral Services, Inc. d/b/a Buena Vista Funeral
Park, and SCI Management Corporation (collectively, SCI).1 The three
contracts were entitled: the July 2002 Goods and Services contract, the
July 2002 Cemetery Lot contract, and the November 2002 Goods and
Services contract.2 Each contract contained an arbitration clause which
provided, in part: “You agree that any claim, including interpretation of
this arbitration clause, shall be submitted to and resolved by mandatory
and binding arbitration in accordance with the laws of Texas[,]” and that
“[b]y signing this Contract, You [sic] agree that any claim shall be
resolved by arbitration. You further agree to give up your right to a court
or jury trial as well as any right to appeal.”3
After the death of George Lopez, Daniel Lopez and Consuelo
Lopez, the widow of the decedent, filed suit against SCI alleging
violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA), fraud,
negligence, breach of contract, breach of warranty, and intentional
infliction of emotional distress.4 In response, SCI moved to compel