Designated Arbitration Forum No Longer Exists

               Plaintiff Keith Jensen sued Burgers of Beaumont I, Ltd., d/b/a Whataburger (Whataburger) for sex and sexual orientation discrimination and for retaliation.  Defendant moved to compel arbitration.

              The arbitration agreement required arbitration through the American Mediation Association (“AMA”), an entity that no longer existed at the time of the lawsuit.

              Defendant’s primary argument is that the Agreement contains many provisions that reference arbitration but which do not reference arbitration specifically before the AMA.  The court rejected this argument stating the occasional generic references to arbitration in the agreement do not override the mandatory language to use the AMA as the exclusive forum for any arbitration proceeding.

              The court denied Defendant’s motion to compel arbitration finding Plaintiff carried his burden in proving that the agreement to arbitration is unenforceable because performance is impossible since the AMA no longer existed.

             Keith Jensen v Burgers of Beaumont I, LTD, d/b/a Whataburger, No. 1:23-CV-686-D11, United States District Court, W.D. Texas, Austin Division.