Court Enforces Unsigned Rider to Contract

Plaintiff and defendant entered into a contract for architectural services. Their contract had a rider that provided for additional fees and contained an arbitration provision. In response to plaintiff’s lawsuit seeking fees, defendant moved to dismiss based on the arbitration provision in the rider. Plaintiff claimed that the rider was unenforceable as the parties never signed.

The trial court disagreed. The court held that because plaintiff’s lawsuit itself relied on the rider, it could not claim that the rider, and the obligation to arbitrate, could not be enforced. The court stated that “through her pleadings plaintiff has conceded that the rider is part of the [contract] and is enforceable.” This outcome was all the more true when defendant demonstrated that the parties had relied on that rider during their relationship.

While the court did not address waiver or estoppel theories, it clearly held that by relying on the rider and incorporating it into her complaint, plaintiff could not disavow its enforceability.

Young v. Brim