Arbitration: Substantial Arbitration Award, A Lot Of It Attorney’s Fees And Costs, Confirmed On Appeal After 2/3 DCA Reverses An Order Vacating The Award In A Homeowner-Contractor Home Renovation Dispute

Arbitrator’s Failure To Disclose His Own Contractor Dispute 20 Years Earlier Did Not Justify Vacating The Award.

            An arbitrator in R&R Construction, Inc. v. Roski, Case No. B293748 (2d Dist., Div. 3 July 22, 2020) (unpublished) awarded homeowner $265,036.40 in damages, $589,967.50 in attorney’s fees and costs, and $60,005 for arbitration fees/expenses in a dispute with a contractor over home renovations.  (We post on this to show how arbitration can be an expensive process, frequently resulting in large fees/costs where there is a fee-shifting basis available.)  However, the arbitrator had failed to disclose that, more than 20 years earlier, he had a dispute with a pool contractor before the Contractors’ State License Board.  The superior court vacated the award, determining that the failure to disclose this past dispute might be an indication of arbitrator bias towards contractors.  The 2/3 DCA, in a 2-1 opinion, disagreed and reinstated the award, finding this past dispute did not indicate a categorical bias on the part of the arbitrator under the circumstances.  Reversal of fortune for the homeowner!