Kenneth Gallups filed a lawsuit against his employer, Dillard's, Inc., claiming workers' compensation benefits and alleging that the company discharged him due to his claim. Dillard's moved to separate the worker's compensation claim from the retaliatory-discharge claim and wanted to compel arbitration for the latter.
The court severed the claims but denied the motion to compel arbitration. Dillard's appealed this decision, leading to the case being presented to the Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama. The court found that the retaliatory-discharge claim did not arise under the Alabama Workers' Compensation Act, and so was not subject to exclusion from the arbitration under the Rules governing the arbitration agreement between Dillard's and Gallups. Therefore, the court overturned the trial court's decision and instructed it to compel arbitration of Gallups's retaliatory-discharge claim.
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