State Board of Administration v. Burns

The State Board of Administration (SBA) challenges an order compelling arbitration pursuant to a contingency fee agreement it entered into with Appellees (hereafter “the law firms”). SBA contends that the parties did not agree to arbitrate the law firms’ entitlement to compensation under the agreement. We agree and reverse.

SBA employed Alliance Capital Management (Alliance) as an investment manager to invest the assets of the Florida Retirement System Trust Fund. After Alliance purchased Enron securities which resulted in losses to the Trust Fund, SBA retained the services of the law firms to…