Bundy
Countrywide Financial Corp. v. Bundy
Opinion
Opinion
Turner, J.
I. INTRODUCTION
Defendants, Thomas Bundy, Misty Sanchez, Kevin Prevost and David Godina, appeal from an order vacating partial arbitration awards against plaintiffs, Countrywide Financial Corporation and Full Spectrum Lending, Inc. Judge Elizabeth A. White vacated the partial arbitration awards on the ground the arbitrator committed a number of legal errors. Because of the unambiguous choice of law language in the agreements to arbitrate, we conclude we must apply the vacatur provisions applicable before a United States District Court in a case subject to the Federal Arbitration Act. ( 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.) When we apply the vacatur provisions of the Federal Arbitration Act, we conclude no grounds permitted the partial awards to be vacated. Although it is uncertain whether the manifest disregard of the law vacatur rule remains extant, we apply it and the federal excess of powers standard of judicial review to the partial awards. Thus, we reverse the order vacating the partial arbitration awards. We do not address the parties’ other contentions including their statute of limitations analysis.