Pennsylvania Arbitration Update: Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules Parents Cannot Bind Children to Arbitration in Trampoline Park Injury Case

In Santiago v. Philly Trampoline Park, LLC, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court delivered a significant decision on the enforceability of arbitration clauses in liability waivers signed by parents.

The case involved injuries sustained by minors at a Sky Zone trampoline park in Pennsylvania. Customers were required to sign a waiver and arbitration agreement. Only one parent signed on behalf of the child. When children sustained injuries at the park, their parents responded by filing lawsuits.

Sky Zone sought to enforce the arbitration agreements to keep the cases out of court. Ultimately, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that (1) a parent cannot unilaterally bind their child to an arbitration agreement and (2) one spouse cannot automatically bind the other to arbitration without proof of agency.

Under Pennsylvania law, an accrued cause of action is a vested property right. A parent acting as a natural guardian to a child does not have the authority to give up this right on behalf of the child through arbitration agreements. Even if a party signs an arbitration agreement, the parent’s signature does not bind the minor child to arbitration.

Additionally, a principal agent relationship does not arise from a marital relationship. A married person cannot sign away the legal rights of their spouse unless there is evidence that one had authority to act on the other’s behalf. This Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision reinforces the principle that children cannot be forced into the arbitration process that bypasses the network that protects their interests via the court system (i.e. judicial oversight, appointment of guardian).