AG Edwards & Sons, Inc. v. Clark

These cases present two issues:

1. Whether the defendants' appeals from orders denying arbitration of the plaintiff's defamation claim were required to be filed within 14 days or within 42 days under the provisions of Rule 4, A.R.App.P., and

2. Whether a tort claim for defamation was included within the scope of the parties' agreement to arbitrate.

M. Brooks Clark, a stockbroker, sued Richard Thompson, a fellow stockbroker, and A.G. Edwards Sons, Inc., Thompson's employer, alleging defamation based upon comments made by Thompson and then repeated by A.G. Edwards in a newspaper advertisement. As…