Kaiser Found. Health Plan v. Guthrie CA2/8

BACKGROUND

After the death of Mr. Guthrie’s mother, he asserted a claim in arbitration that her death was caused by Kaiser’s malpractice. An arbitration award was rendered in favor of Kaiser in 2007. That award is not part of the record of this appeal. The parties disagree as to what happened in that first arbitration. It appears to be undisputed, however, that Mr. Guthrie did not call an expert to testify in support of his malpractice claim, contending that was unnecessary since his mother’s medical records established as a matter of common understanding that Kaiser’s malpractice caused her death. Other proceedings ensued. The parties disagree about the number of subsequent arbitration demands Mr. Guthrie made, and we need not decide how many there were. The arbitration in dispute in this appeal commenced when Mr. Guthrie filed a demand for arbitration dated January 16, 2013. In the demand for arbitration, Mr. Guthrie sought to “impeach” the findings and order of an arbitrator dated November 28, 2012, which Mr. Guthrie asserted were obtained by fraud. The November 28, 2012 findings and order are not part of the record of this appeal. In this arbitration, Mr. Guthrie filed a…