Supreme Court Finds Education Board Has Authority to Arbitrate Mold-Related Construction Dispute

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The power to arbitrate disputes is fairly implied from the power to enter into a contract and affords a Tennessee school board the authority to arbitrate a dispute over the board's refusal to pay a contractor that would not clean up mold growth allegedly caused by the contractor's own actions, the state Supreme Court has ruled. Southern Constructors, Inc. v. Loudon County Board of Education, No. E2000-02577-SC-S09-CV (Tenn. Sup. Ct., Eastern Section).

In its Oct. 26 decision, the Tennessee Supreme Court reversed a trial court's denial of summary judgment and dismissed a post-arbitration claim filed against the …