He signed the paperwork 17 days before a supervisor's order got him killed
A Sonic worker was shot dead after his supervisor sent him to confront a stranger - now a Texas court says his family must arbitrate.
The Tenth Court of Appeals in Waco reversed a trial court decision on September 17, holding the arbitration agreement the employee signed during onboarding was enforceable.
Here is what the lawsuit says happened. On the evening of May 13, 2023, three individuals pulled into a Sonic in Keene, Texas, with a twelve-year-old in the vehicle. One adult began urinating in the dimly lit back parking lot. The worker's supervisor told him to go outside and ask the group to leave.
He did. Words turned to fists. Then, according to the petition, one of the adults handed a gun to the twelve-year-old and said, "Go." The child shot the worker six times. He was airlifted to hospital and pronounced dead.
His mother sued Sonic, alleging negligence in sending her son into a dangerous confrontation, allowing unsafe conditions, and negligently hiring, training, and supervising the manager on duty.
Sonic's answer came in two parts: a general denial - and an arbitration clause.
The worker signed the agreement during onboarding on April 26, 2023. Seventeen days before he died. Under franchise operator MHR North Texas's system, new hires could not clock in until they completed the paperwork.
His mother argued the clause was procedurally unconscionable - her son had no bargaining power and the provision was "deceptively buried" in an appendix. The appeals court disagreed. Unequal bargaining power between employer and at-will employee does not by itself make an arbitration clause unconscionable under Texas law, it held. A one-page acknowledgment the worker signed expressly referenced the "mandatory and binding" arbitration program in bold.
She also argued Sonic waived its right by litigating nine months before filing its motion. Not so - Sonic had flagged arbitration in its original answer sixteen days after the petition landed and initiated only one set of discovery. That fell short of what Texas courts require to find waiver.
One more hurdle: the mother never signed the agreement. Under Texas precedent, wrongful-death and survival actions are derivative of the deceased's rights - the family stands in the worker's "legal shoes," arbitration clause included.
For HR teams, the takeaway is practical: onboarding arbitration clauses hold up even in extreme cases, provided the documentation is transparent and the employer moves early.
The negligence claims against Sonic have not been decided. The ruling addressed only whether the dispute must proceed in arbitration rather than open court.
