Delaney

Joseph V. Delaney appeals from a judgment on a binding arbitration award. We affirm because (1) the arbitrator had authority to award attorney fees against Delaney in the arbitration, (2) the arbitrator could amend the final arbitration award to add Delaney’s name to the disposition section, and (3) the amendment to add Delaney’s name was timely.

The arbitrator, in considering whether to award attorney fees against Delaney, interpreted the parties’ contract and considered evidence presented at the arbitration hearing. The arbitrator decided attorney fees should be awarded against Delaney. Following Moncharsh v. Heily & Blase (1992) 3 Cal.4th 1 [ 10 Cal.Rptr.2d 183 , 832 P.2d 899 ] (Moncharsh) and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. v. Intel Corp. (1994) 9 Cal.4th 362 [ 36 Cal.Rptr.2d 581 , 885 P.2d 994 ] (Advanced Micro Devices), the trial court properly deferred to the arbitrator’s decision.

Amendment of a final arbitration award is permitted if an issue is omitted from the award due to the arbitrator’s inadvertence or mistake, the amendment is consistent with other findings on the merits, and the amendment does not cause demonstrable prejudice to any party’s legitimate…