Appeals Court: Sports Organization Waived Right to Arbitration When It Answered Initial Complaint

A Florida state appeals court has reversed a trial court and ruled that when the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States, Inc. (AAU) responded to the initial complaint of the parents of a son, who alleged that the AAU was negligent because it didn’t follow through on certain safety measures that would have protected their son for a head injury, that it waived the right to an existing arbitration clause.   The underlying action arises from a head injury, which the minor son of William