Article ID: 2e49c9c7540ff704b946df33ca3e748ed619eb8e60ef1516d0af3841558ac0fe
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URL: https://www.businessinsurance.com/sonic-operator-wins-arbitration-appeal-in-workers-fatal-shooting/
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Sonic operator wins arbitration appeal in worker’s fatal shooting - Business Insurance Skip to content Register for free Search Search Log In Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Sonic operator wins arbitration appeal in worker’s fatal shooting by Louise Esola Claims Disputes , Workers Comp Coverage , Workplace Safety Sep 22, 2026 A Texas appeals court ruled that a Sonic Drive-In operator can enforce an arbitration agreement covering claims stemming from an employee’s fatal shooting, rejecting arguments that the agreement was unfair and that the employer waived its right to arbitration. As documented in Sonic Drive-In, Keene, TX, LLC v. Miller, filed Thursday in the 10th Court of Appeals of Texas, Matthew Davis was working at the Keene restaurant on May 13, 2023, when his supervisor directed him to confront a man urinating in the back parking lot and ask him to leave, according to allegations outlined in the opinion. The confrontation escalated into a physical altercation. A woman accompanying the man allegedly handed a gun to a 12-year-old, who shot Mr. Davis six times. Mr. Davis later died at a hospital. His mother, Leigh Anne Miller, sued individually and on behalf of his estate. She alleged that Sonic negligently instructed her son to confront the man, allowed dangerous conditions on the property and failed to properly hire, train and supervise employees. The fast-food establishment did not carry Texas workers compensation insurance, as state law permits. Instead, it participated in an occupational injury benefit plan that provided an alternative to workers compensation and required arbitration of negligence claims related to workplace injuries, according to the ruling. Mr. Davis had electronically signed an arbitration agreement during onboarding on April 26, 2023. Ms. Miller argued that the agreement was procedurally unconscionable because her son could not clock in until he completed the onboarding documents, had no meaningful opportunity to negotiate and encountered arbitration terms “deceptively buried” in an appendix to the benefit plan’s summary description. The appeals court disagreed, reversing a trial court’s order denying Sonic’s motion to compel arbitration and remanding the case. It found that unequal bargaining power between an employer and an at-will employee did not establish procedural unconscionability. A separate, one-page acknowledgment Mr. Davis signed expressly highlighted the mandatory arbitration requirement and directed him to the appendix, the court said. Although Ms. Miller had not signed the agreement, the court held that her wrongful-death and survival claims were subject to it because they derived from her son’s rights. The court also rejected her contention that Sonic waived arbitration by participating in litigation and waiting approximately nine months after the lawsuit was filed to move to compel arbitration. Sonic asserted its arbitration rights in its original answer and sought only limited discovery, the court said. Its litigation activity did not establish that it substantially invoked the judicial process inconsistently with those rights. 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