[Dis-res] RDDR (Dec. 10-16, 2006)

[wholcomb at willamette.edu]

Recent Developments in Dispute Resolution
Willamette University College of Law
Center for Dispute Resolution
December 10, 2006 through December 16, 2006
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Arbitration: When a contract does not specify how damages shall be
determined, damages are determined by the court. (11th Cir.)

Coca-Cola Bottling Co. v. International Brother Of Teamsters (11th Cir.,
Dec. 13, 2006)

Coca-Cola entered into a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the
International Brother of Teamsters. The CBA stated damages were to be
awarded for compensation only. Coca-Cola breached the CBA and the matter
was sent to arbitration. The arbitrator ruled in favor of the union;
however, the arbitrator had insufficient information to issue an award.
Coca-Cola brought suit in district court. The court affirmed the award and
Coca-Cola appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh
Circuit. Coca-Cola moved to vacate the award for being incomplete. The
Circuit Court found the arbitration award was appropriate and remanded the
case to the district court to decide what information is necessary to
determine compensatory damages. (VS)

Full Opinion available online at Westlaw.


Arbitration:  Upon finding that an arbitrator erred in determining
jurisdictional issues, the court should remand the issues back to the
arbitrator. (Fla.App. 2 Dist.)

Jerue v. Holladay, WL 3686093 (Fla.App. 2 Dist., Dec. 15, 2006)

John Jerue hired Candace Holladay Interiors to provide interior design
services. Jerue filed a complaint against Holladay alleging breach of
contract and moved to compel arbitration pursuant to the employment
contract. The arbitrator determined that he lacked jurisdiction to
consider Jerue’s claim that Holladay over-charged him. The arbitrator
referred the issue to the trial court. The trial court found the
arbitrator had jurisdiction to consider the over-charging claim, but since
Jerue failed to ask the court to modify or vacate the ruling, the
arbitrator’s erroneous ruling was final. Jerue’s attorney failed to attend
the hearing. Jerue appealed, arguing that the trial court entered judgment
against Jerue in absence of counsel. The District Court of Appeal of
Florida reversed the trial courts judgment and remanded the case to
arbitration holding that the trial court abused its discretion in denying
Jerue's motion for relief from judgment.  The District Court reasoned that
upon finding that the arbitrator was in error, the proper relief was to
remand the issues back to the arbitrator. (PA)

Full opinion available online at:
http://www.2dca.org/opinion/December%2015,%202006/2D05-367.pdf


Arbitration: A party may waive their right to arbitration by failing to
move to stay judicial proceedings in a timely manner. (Ohio App. 6 Dist.)

Constr. Technologies, L.L.C. v. Southbridge Hous. Partners, L.P., WL
3691672 (Ohio App. 6 Dist., Dec. 15, 2006)

Construction Technologies contracted with Southbridge Housing Partners to
renovate an apartment building. The contract contained an arbitration
clause. Construction filed a breach of contract action against Southbridge
and Southbridge moved to stay the proceedings pursuant to the arbitration
clause. The trial court denied the motion, finding that Southbridge failed
to request arbitration within a reasonable time. Southbridge appealed to
the Court of Appeals of Ohio. The appeals court ruled that the party
seeking to waive the right to arbitrate must establish that (1) the
waiving party knew of the existing right to arbitrate and (2) the totality
of the circumstances demonstrate the party acted inconsistently with the
known right. When considering the totality of circumstances, the delay by
the party requesting a stay of proceedings is a relevant factor. The Court
of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision, finding that it was an
unreasonable delay for Southbridge to seek arbitration two years after the
project was completed. (PA)

Full opinion available online at:
http://commissioners.co.lucas.oh.us/Appeals/DecisionsPDF/2983.pdf


Fall Editor: Whitney Holcombe
Faculty Advisors:  Richard Birke/A. Lee Jordan