Plantations at Haywood 1, LLC v. Plantations at Haywood, LLC

FACTS

The parties in this case were engaged in a real estate dispute, with plaintiffs, 2 represented by Catanzarite, alleging they were defrauded into exchanging their interests in an apartment complex for interests in a limited liability company. The dispute was ordered into arbitration at the request of plaintiffs, and the arbitrator ruled in favor of Plantations. In February 2023, Plantations petitioned the court to confirm the arbitration award pursuant to section 1285. Catanzarite filed an “Omnibus Response” (response) addressing both Plantations’s petition and a petition to confirm the same arbitration

2 Plaintiffs are not parties to this appeal.

3 award in favor of separate parties. The response summarized the arbitrator’s decision and asserted the arbitrator “exceeded his power in refusing to hear undisputed evidence, and . . . he abused his discretion in finding in favor of [Plantations].” Catanzarite asserted the award must be vacated pursuant to section 1286.2, subdivisions (a)(4) (arbitrator exceeded his powers) and (a)(5) (arbitrator refused to “hear” material evidence). Catanzarite’s supporting declaration stated, “[a]lthough the Arbitrator ostensibly admitted all…