Mental Incompetence Dorothy Drury suffered from dementia and chronic confusion. When she became unable to manage her own affairs, including decisions about medical and financial matters, her son Eddie arranged for her to move to an assisted-living facility. During admission, she signed a residency agreement, which included an arbitration clause. After she sustained injuries in a fall at the facility, a suit was filed to recover damages. The facility asked the court to compel arbitration.
Was Dorothy bound to the residency agreement? No, Dorothy was not bound to the residency agreement
Dorothy is suffering from Dementia and chronic confusion; Dementia occurs when thinking and social symptoms interferes with daily function of an individuals and Chronic confusion is a state in which there is a decreased capacity for intellectual thought processes which manifest as disturbances of memory ,behaviors and orientation.
Dorothy is mental incompetence, though there is a contract made on her behalf i.e the one made by her son while she was been admitted in the residency, there is not obligation for her to bound with the contact, the court will decided that she does not abide by the residency agreement since it was Eddie(Her son) who signed the agreement on her behalf has no authority, therefore she is not bound by the agreement.
1. What element of a valid contract is at is: Capacity
The element that constitute a contract to be valid must involve an individual who understand the nature, purpose , consequences of the contract and at the time of signing the contract and the individual must be lucid.
Dorothy is been judged mentally incompetent so it is not possible for he to enter into a agreement, therefore any agreement she enter into based on her mental state is consider void.
