In Re Olshan Foundation Repair Company, LLC and Olshan Foundation Repair Company of Dallas, Ltd., Relators

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court held that the Federal Arbitration Act preempts the Texas General Arbitration Act for arbitration agreements that refer to the state's arbitration laws, rendering the trial courts' refusals to compel arbitration an abuse of discretion; it affirmed that the TAA governs an agreement that explicitly invokes the Texas General Arbitration Act, so the trial court correctly denied mandamus in that case; it found the arbitration agreements were not unconscionable because the homeowners offered no sufficient evidence of prohibitive costs; consequently, the Court conditionally granted mandamus relief and remanded the three cases governed by the FAA. Justice HECHT, in a concurring opinion, argued the contracts were not unconscionable despite potential voidness under the Texas Home Solicitation Act.