Courts continue confirmation of arbitration awards
Two recent rulings addressed the confirmation of arbitration awards:
- The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed the confirmation of an arbitration award in a non-insurance case, rejecting a contention that the award construed a contract in such a way that it violated a First Circuit standard that prohibits the interpretation of contracts “in a way that cannot possibly be described as plausible or rational.” Vital Basics Inc. v. Vertrue Inc., Case No. 05-2741 (1st Cir. Dec. 29, 2006).
- A New York state court ruled that an arbitration award should be confirmed under New York law, since it was not arbitrary, capricious, or irrational, and the losing party had failed to prove its contention that the arbitrator had improperly prejudiced its rights and the integrity of the arbitral process due to purported ex parte contacts with opposing counsel. Mounier v. American Transit Ins. Co., Case No. 2005-03804 (NY Sup.Ct. App.Div. Jan. 9, 2007).
