Court erred in granting Defendants' motion to compel arbitration and dismissing Plaintiffs' complaints without prejudice. Although court found an agreement to arbitrate, that finding did not resolve the issues raised by Plaintiff as to whether the arbitration agreement was enforceable as to certain entities which were not members of the National Futures Association. The court should have resolved those factual and legal issues before determining whether the disputes were arbitrable. Court did not make any findings as to whether those non-members were subject to the arbitration agreement. Trial court has a duty to make a substantive determination on each claim raised by the parties as to the arbitrability of the dispute. Section 2(a) of Uniform Arbitration Act does not allow court to rule in a conclusory manner, as court here did in sending the case to arbitration. Court must make factual and legal findings as to whether an agreement to arbitrate exists between the parties. (MIKVA and ODEN JOHNSON, concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Arbitration