General Steel Corp. v. Collins
Kentucky Court of Appeals
196 S.W.3d 18 (2006)
- Written by Tammy Boggs, JD
Facts
In 2004, General Steel Corp. (defendant) offered to construct a steel building for Collins Game Room & Restaurant and related parties (plaintiffs) (together, Collins). The written document memorializing the parties’ agreement contained language regarding Collins’s acknowledgment of all General Steel’s terms and conditions, including that the contract could not be modified unless done through a separate, signed writing. One of General Steel’s conditions, paragraph 16, was a requirement to arbitrate any dispute that arose from the contract. Collins obliterated the arbitration clause by entirely marking out paragraph 16. Collins also placed a deposit toward the purchase of the steel building. Months later, Collins sued General Steel to recover the deposit. General Steel filed a motion to compel arbitration, which the trial court denied based on its finding that the arbitration clause was not enforceable. General Steel appealed, arguing that Collins’s striking of the arbitration clause was ineffective and void under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and should have been construed as a proposal for an addition to the contract.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Combs, C.J.)
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