Originally from Dispute Resolution Journal

Two recent decisions of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals considered the burden which must be shouldered by a party seeking to set aside an arbitration award. The concepts applied by both courts are instructive and helpful to practitioners and arbitrators when challenging or defending an arbitration award.

Daniel Wolf and Maia Caplan Kats v. Sprenger+Lang, PPLLC1

This case was reported on July 11, 2013. The District of Columbia Court of Appeals decided whether an arbitration award made in the District of Columbia pertaining to the allocation of attorneys’ fees awarded after settlement of a class action lawsuit that was filed and litigated in California, should be vacated because of allegations that the arbitrator committed misconduct, exceeded his powers, the award was based upon the arbitrator’s notions of ethical propriety rather than the contract of the parties, and violated the due process rights of appellants.