F.A. Dobbs and Sons, Inc. v. Northcutt

Summary

The Alabama Supreme Court affirmed the denial of a construction company's motion to compel arbitration. The court held that the motion to dismiss was not reviewable because the submission of matters outside the pleadings converted it into a motion for summary judgment, and further held that the company failed to prove that the construction contract substantially affected interstate commerce as required for application of the Federal Arbitration Act.

Holdings

1. By attaching the contract and an affidavit to its Rule 12(b)(6) motion, Dobbs converted the motion into one for summary judgment. Because an order denying summary judgment is not appealable absent permission under Rule 5, Ala. R. App. P., and no permission was sought or granted, the court could not review the merits of Dobbs's condition-precedent defense.
2. The party moving to compel arbitration bears the burden of proving that the arbitration agreement appears in a contract involving a transaction that substantially affects interstate commerce. Dobbs failed to meet that burden because its general evidence concerning interstate materials and out-of-state cabinetry did not establish a substantial interstate-commerce effect for the Northcutts' Alabama construction contract; therefore, the motion to compel arbitration was properly denied.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court's denial of Dobbs's motion to dismiss for failure to satisfy a contractual condition precedent was reviewable on appeal after Dobbs submitted matters outside the pleadings.
2. Whether Dobbs established that the parties' construction transaction substantially affected interstate commerce so that the Federal Arbitration Act applied and the arbitration agreement was specifically enforceable.

Disposition

affirmed