Anoke

BACKGROUND

A.

Appellants Sarah Anoke and other current or former employees (collectively “Anoke”) initiated arbitration proceedings with Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (“the arbitrator”) to resolve employment-related disputes with X. Anoke’s employment contract with X provides for arbitration of such disputes.

On March 7, 2023, the arbitrator emailed an invoice for $27,200, X’s share of the initial fees for the 15 individual arbitrations here, to all counsel. The invoice stated that “[p]ayment is due upon receipt.” Anoke’s counsel mistakenly paid the invoice the same day. As a result, when X’s counsel accessed the arbitrator’s online portal on March 8, the system listed the status of the invoice as “[c]losed” and indicated that $27,200 had been “[p]aid” on the invoice.

Anoke’s counsel notified the arbitrator of the error on March 8, and the arbitrator issued a refund check on March 21. Anoke’s counsel apparently did not notify X that it had paid the fees or requested a refund. Notwithstanding the refund, when the arbitrator emailed counsel for both parties near the end of March to schedule an initial administrative call, the arbitrator represented that “ ‘[t]he…