ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS
NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION
JOSEPHINE LINKER HART, JUDGE
DIVISION II
CA07524
February 6, 2008
WAVERLYARKANSAS, INC. d/b/a
MENA MANOR, HCM, INC., and
AN APPEAL FROM POLK COUNTY
TERESA LUNSFORD
CIRCUIT COURT
APPELLANTS
[No. CV0594]
v.
PEGGY KEENER, As Personal
HONORABLE JERRY WAYNE LOONEY,
Representative of the ESTATE OF
CIRCUIT JUDGE
ALPHA G. DAVIS, Deceased
APPELLEE
AFFIRMED
This is an appeal from a circuit court’s denial of a motion to compel arbitration.
Appellee Peggy Keener, as personal representative of the estate of her mother, Alpha Davis,
and on behalf ofMs. Davis’s wrongfuldeath beneficiaries, brought thismedicalmalpractice
action against appellants, WaverlyArkansas, Inc., d/b/a Mena Manor (a nursing home);
HCM, Inc.; and Teresa Lunsford, in her capacity as administrator of Mena Manor. The trial
court denied the motion to compel arbitration on the ground that Ms. Keener’s signature, as
the holder of hermother’s power of attorney, on the arbitration agreementwas invalid. It also
ruled that the arbitration agreement was a contract of adhesion and that the circumstances
1 Ms. Davis was eightyone years old and suffered from several serious medical
conditionswhen she signed the power of attorney. In addition to paralyzing her right side and
making her unable to speak, the stroke left her nearly unable to communicate at all. She
could not consistently follow commands, and appellee was unsure whether her mother
understood language. Ms. Davis’s medical records indicated that she also suffered from
coronary artery disease, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, spinal stenosis,
cataracts, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. She had suffered a hip fracture in the past.
2
surrounding its execution rendered it unconscionable. We find no error in the circuit court’s
decision and affirm.
In late 1996, Ms. Davis had a stroke that paralyzed her right side andmade her unable
to speak. 1 After she declined app