Arbitration Awards, Part II
Three recent court opinions addressed the confirmation of arbitration awards on fairly traditional grounds:
- In a case involving reinsurance, the court found that an arbitration panel did not exceed its authority in entering the award it entered. The dispute was whether a West Virginia Court had already determined the scope of contractual obligations later ruled upon by the arbitration panel. HCC Aviation Insur. Group, Inc. v. Employers Reinsurance Corp., Case No. 05-11118 (USCA 5th Cir. June 28, 2007).
- In Pirooz v. MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc., Case No. 06-2002 (USCA 8th Cir. July 2, 2007), the Court of Appeals, in a per curiam opinion, affirmed a “well-reasoned” district court opinion that confirmed an arbitration award over objections that the arbitrator had exceeded his authority, entered an award that failed to draw its essence from the agreement and evidenced manifest disregard for the law.
- A US District Court, in The Upper Deck Company v. American International Specialty Lines Ins. Co., Case No. 05-1945 (USDC SD Cal. June 28, 2007), confirmed an arbitration award, rejecting contentions that the award “implausibly interpreted” a contract and evidenced manifest disregard for the law.
These three cases all involved arguments that essentially disputed the merits of the arbitration awards and the judgments made by the arbitrators, arguments which are rarely successful.
