Thomas v. Sloan Homes, LLC

Summary

The Alabama Supreme Court held that the doctrine of merger did not extinguish an arbitration clause in an antecedent residential sales contract when the parties later executed and delivered an ordinary warranty deed. The court reasoned that obligations collateral to the conveyance of title, including obligations concerning construction of the home, may survive delivery of the deed, and it affirmed the order compelling arbitration.

Holdings

1. The doctrine of merger did not extinguish the arbitration clause because the clause was a collateral provision of the antecedent sales agreement rather than a provision concerning only the transfer of title or possession.
2. The circuit court properly compelled arbitration because the Thomases did not dispute the existence of the arbitration clause or that the sales contract evidenced a transaction affecting interstate commerce, and the merger doctrine did not make the clause inapplicable.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the doctrine of merger extinguished the arbitration clause in the antecedent residential sales contract when the parties executed and delivered a general warranty deed.
2. Whether the circuit court properly compelled arbitration of the Thomases' claims under the arbitration clause in the sales contract.

Disposition

affirmed