Northern Health Facilities v. Batz

Faith Batz (defendant) signed all the intake documents for her husband, John Batz, when he was admitted to the Tremont Health and Rehabilitation Center (the center) (plaintiff), a nursing home operated by Northern Health Facilities. Among the documents was an agreement requiring alternative dispute resolution (ADR) of all disputes related to John’s stay at the center. Because John was blind, he told the nurse who presented intake documents that Faith should sign them. Faith reviewed and signed all the documents. The nurse later said she believed John knew his wife signed all the documents because he was there the entire time she reviewed and signed them and he did nothing afterward to indicate Faith lacked his authority to sign them. In addition, the signature page of the ADR agreement where Faith signed as “Legal Representative” expressly stated that the center could rely on the representative’s signature based on the resident granting actual, implied, or apparent authority for the representative to sign. Two weeks later, John was still at the center when he allegedly suffered a deep-tissue injury. The injury deteriorated into necrotizing fasciitis and gangrene, requiring hospitalization and multiple operations. John developed a large open wound and died in home hospice eight days after his discharge from the hospital, two months after his admission to the center. Faith sued the center in state court on her own behalf and as John’s administratrix. The center in turn filed a federal action to stay the state-court proceedings and compel arbitration. Faith countered that the lack of John’s signature invalidated the ADR agreement.