Ex Parte Pope

Max C. Pope, Sr., as trustee of the bankruptcy estate of Apex Coal Corporation ("Apex"), is the plaintiff in an action pending in the Jefferson Circuit Court. He petitions for a writ of mandamus directing that court to set aside its order granting the defendants' motion to compel arbitration of Apex's claims.

Apex entered into a contract with Warco, Inc., the predecessor of Gulf States Paper Corporation, by which Apex was to extract coal from land owned by Warco. At issue is the arbitrability of the dispute that arose between the parties when Apex discovered that Warco and Gulf States had…