Clarification on WV’s burden for establishing existence of arbitration agreement

To compel arbitration in West Virginia, you must first show that a valid arbitration agreement exists. The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia recently ruled you can simply attach a copy of the arbitration agreement to your request to compel. In the event of an assignment, the required showing remains the same—however, the party seeking to compel arbitration must also attach a copy of an assignment. This is needed to show a chain of assignment from the original signee of the agreement to the party then moving to compel its enforcement.

The court’s decision clarifies that, in West Virginia, while parties seeking to compel arbitration do have the “burden” of showing that an arbitration agreement exists, it is extremely light. Although the recent case didn’t arise in the context of the employer-employee relationship, the same principles apply to an employer seeking to enforce an arbitration agreement.