FOURTH CIRCUIT AFFIRMS ARBITRATION AWARD, FINDING ARBITRATORS HAD AUTHORITY TO DETERMINE VALIDITY OF AGREEMENT
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal recently issued its decision concerning Central West Virginia Energy’s consolidated appeal of two judgments affirming an arbitration award handed down by a Charleston, WV arbitration panel in favor of Bayer Cropscience, arising out of actions by two different arbitral panels. The issue was whether the validity of a particular contract should have been decided by a court or the arbitral panels (and if by arbitrators, which ones). Interpreting the recent Stolt-Nielsen decision, the Fourth Circuit upheld the decision of the two district courts and determined that this was a procedural rather than a jurisdictional issue, and as such was subject to decision by the arbitral panels rather than the courts. The Court of Appeal, emphasizing the “highly deferential standard of review due arbitration awards,” upheld the award concluding that the Charleston Panel had not exceeded its powers. Central West Virginia Energy, Inc. v. Bayer Cropscience LP, No. 10-348 (4th Cir. July 14, 2011).
This post written by John Black.
