The Third Circuit refused to vacate an arbitrator’s award, despite allegations that she failed to disclose contributions the defendant’s parent company had made to her judicial campaign and failed to disclose that she co-taught a seminar with in-house counsel for the defendant’s parent company. Freeman v. Pittsburgh Glass Works, LLC, __ F.3d __, 2013 WL
vacate
Arbitrators Labeling Your Securities "Crap" Does Not Entitle You To Vacate The Award
In the last post, the Fifth Circuit affirmed an arbitration award against Morgan Keegan. The Ninth Circuit just affirmed an arbitration award against Morgan Keegan in a sister case. In less than two pages, the Ninth Circuit rejected Morgan Keegan’s arguments that the arbitrators were partial or exceeded their power. Morgan Keegan & Co. v.
Expert's Trick (changed damage calculation) Does Not Entitle Arbitration Loser to a Treat (a/k/a vacatur)
The Fifth Circuit recently refused to vacate an arbitration award, despite the loser’s arguments that: the arbitrators decided claims outside the scope of the arbitration agreement; and the winner’s expert used incorrect damage numbers in his testimony. Morgan Keegan & Co., Inc. v. Garrett, 2012 WL 5209985 (5th Cir. Oct. 23, 2012).
At issue in…
Arbitration Award Can Be Vacated If It Directs Party To Perform Illegal Act
In a new decision from the First Circuit, which refuses to make any definitive pronouncements about the law on vacating arbitration awards, the court said it assumes “with some confidence” that if an arbitration award directed a party to violate an administrative agency rule, it could be vacated on that basis.
In Bangor Gas Company…
Catch 22 for Parties Seeking to Vacate Arbitration Award for Bias
The Fifth Circuit has issued a harsh reminder that in order to preserve issues of arbitrator bias for appeal, the bias must have been raised before the arbitration award was issued.
In Dealer Computer Servs. v. Michael Motor Co., 2012 WL 3317809 (5th Cir. Aug. 14, 2012), one party (DCS) received a unanimous and favorable…
Plaintiff Finds You Can Beat City Hall (in arbitration)
While a court may vacate an arbitration award if the arbitrator exceeds the scope of his authority, the City of Lebanon was unable to convince the Supreme Court of New Hampshire that an arbitrator exceeded his authority when siding against the City in a tax dispute.
The plaintiff in Lebanon Hanger Assoc. v. City of…
Circuit Split: Does Stolt-Nielsen Allow Class Arbitrations Based On Implicit Contract Interpretation?
The Fifth Circuit just issued a decision openly disagreeing with how the Second Circuit has interpreted both the Stolt-Nielsen decision and case law regarding the level of deference that courts owe arbitrators. In Reed v. Florida Metropolitan Univ., Inc., __ F.3d __, 2012 WL 1759298 (5th Cir. May 18, 2012), the Fifth Circuit vacated…
Third Circuit Issues Reminder That Stolt-Nielsen Decision Does Not Preclude Class Arbitration
Although courts and practitioners may think of the Stolt-Nielsen decision as the death knell of class arbitration, the Third Circuit’s ruling last week serves as a reminder that the Stolt-Nielsen did not deal a mortal blow. In fact, in Sutter v. Oxford Health Plans LLC, __ F.3d __, 2012 WL 1088887 (3d Cir. April…
The Arbitrator Finds The Contract Invalid. Now What?
What is an arbitrator to do after concluding that the parties’ entire agreement — the same agreement that authorized the arbitration proceeding — is invalid? That is the question that the California Court of Appeal addressed this week. The California court ruled that the arbitrator was authorized to reach a decision on the merits of…