Schneickert

After engaging in contractual arbitration, the parties filed competing petitions in superior court to vacate and confirm the arbitrator’s award. The superior court corrected the arbitrator’s award and confirmed the award as corrected. Both parties appealed from the judgment confirming the corrected award.

The primary issue on appeal is whether the superior court erred in correcting the award by striking the compelled retraction of defendant’s defamatory statements (the retraction order). The superior court concluded that by compelling defendant to retract his defamatory statements in violation of the free speech provision of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, the arbitrator had exceeded his powers.

In the main appeal, defendant agrees that the arbitrator exceeded his powers, but argues that the superior court should have vacated the entire award. In the cross-appeal, plaintiffs disagree that the arbitrator exceeded his powers and argues that the superior court should have confirmed the entire award.

We conclude that although the arbitrator was empowered to compel a limited retraction of the defamatory statements, he exceeded his powers by inserting…