Defendant provided the district court with copies of two contracts – a Reinsurance Participation Agreement and a Request to Bind – that were purportedly signed by Plaintiff’s CEO and contained arbitration clauses. However, Plaintiff submitted a declaration by the CEO’s son and successor, stating that “he is very familiar with his father’s signature an did not recognize the signatures or believe they were written by his father.”  Thus, the Court concluded Plaintiff raised a genuine issue of fact with respect to the execution of the agreements and was entitled to a trial pursuant to Section 4 of the FAA, as it states that “if the making of the arbitration … be in issue, the court shall proceed summarily to a trial thereof.”  9 U.S.C. § 4.

Arevalo Tortilleria, Inc. v. Applied Underwriters Captive Risk Assurance Company, Inc., No. 15-56830 (9th Cir. Aug. 4, 2017)