Reason: Nondisclosure of Social Relationship Between Claimant’s Attorney and JAMS Arbitrator.
As reported by a June 29, 2011 post on Thomson Reuters News & Insight, a Texas appeals court vacated a $22 million base award and $6 million fee award in favor of a claimant based on claimant’s attorney’s failure to disclose his social relationship with the JAMS arbitrator. Seems like the failure to disclose country club dinners and outings to Mavericks games showed the appellate court that impartiality was not necessarily in place.
BLOG UNDERVIEW--According to the article, the National Law Journal has reported that less than about 15% of challenges to arbitration awards result in a higher court vacating them. Interesting statistic, especially for some of our readers who we assume do not like the process in the first place. (We find that lawyer perceptions about arbitration are decidedly mixed, some liking, some hating, and others making the decision based on the arbitrator/venue/amount in controversy/etc.)
Daumier, the judge.
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