The Fourth Appellate District affirmed a trial court order denying a motion to compel arbitration. The court held that, despite intertwined business dealings, the defendants seeking to bind the plaintiffs to the binding arbitration clause in an investment account agreement were not parties to that agreement; further, the conduct giving rise to their potential liability was not so inextricably bound up with the obligations imposed under that agreement as to equitably estop the plaintiffs from challenging the applicability of the arbitration clause.
Ivor Jacobson actively befriended Charles and Judith Jones, a wealthy retired couple living not far away from him. Claiming decades of experience as a successful investment advisor, he solicited the Joneses to invest money in a joint venture with him.
