Sargon Enterprises v. Browne George Ross LLP

Sargon filed a malpractice suit against BGR and BGR petitioned to compel arbitration. The Court of Appeal held that the arbitrator erred in finding that the parties' arbitration agreement included a promise to forego litigation, and thus in concluding that Sargon breached the arbitration agreement by filing a malpractice action in superior court; the arbitrator's award violated Sargon's statutory right, as articulated in the California Arbitration Act, to seek a preliminary determination of arbitrability from a court; and thus, notwithstanding the limited judicial review generally afforded arbitration awards, the present arbitration award was subject to correction. However, the court did not vacate the arbitration award in its entirety because the court could strike the portion of the arbitration award adjudicating BGR's breach of contract claim without affecting the merits of the arbitrator's summary disposition of Sargon's malpractice claim. View "Sargon Enterprises v. Browne George Ross LLP" on Justia Law