COURT RULES THAT PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AS A PARTY-APPOINTED ARBITRATOR DOES NOT CONSTITUTE EVIDENT PARTIALITY
After the federal district court granted a motion for reconsideration by Arrowood Indemnity Co. (“Arrowood”) and remanded three questions to the arbitration panel, Trustmark Insurance Co. (“Trustmark”) moved to stay the remand and for discovery into the Umpire’s relationship with Arrowood and its counsel. Trustmark argued that, since the outset of the present arbitration in 2003, Arrowood had selected the Umpire as its party-appointed arbitrator in at least six unrelated arbitrations and the Umpire is therefore biased. The court noted that the Umpire’s relationship with Arrowood and its counsel was disclosed and grew out of the Umpire’s professional service as an arbitrator, and ruled that, under the Federal Arbitration Act, this sort of relationship does not constitute evident partiality. In addition to denying the motion to stay the remand and for discovery, the court also denied Trustmark’s motion to vacate an order admitting Arrowood’s counsel pro hac vice and an emergency motion to stay the remand. Arrowood Indem. Co. v. Trustmark Ins. Co., Case No. 03-1000 (USDC D. Conn. Feb. 2, 2010).
This post written by Dan Crisp.
