Safari Associates v. Superior Court

I.

INTRODUCTION

Petitioner Safari Associates (Safari) and real party in interest Alan Tarlov arbitrated a dispute pursuant to a written agreement. The arbitrator awarded Safari damages, attorney fees, and costs. Safari petitioned to confirm the arbitration award in the trial court. In response, Tarlov filed a motion to modify or correct the award on the ground that the arbitrator acted in excess of his powers in awarding Safari attorney fees. Specifically, Tarlov contended that the arbitrator exceeded his powers by “voiding]” the definition of prevailing party provided in the parties’ agreement, and instead applying the definition of prevailing party specified in Civil Code section 1717, subdivision (b)(1).

In opposition, Safari argued that the arbitrator had not exceeded his powers under the agreement, and that the arbitrator’s application of section 1717 was, at most, a nonreviewable legal error. In the alternative, Safari maintained that the arbitrator had correctly applied the definition of prevailing party contained in section 1717 in awarding attorney fees because the agreement provided that it would be governed by California law, and California law is clear that…