Rebmann

Defendant Peter Rohde informed the trial court that if he had “known about his religious affiliation, his cultural affiliation, and the dedication to keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive, I never would have allowed him to be the arbitrator in my case.” Rohde submitted declarations stating his own father served in the German army during World War U and his wife’s father was in the Schutzstaffel (commonly known as the SS). He claims to have discovered that the arbitrator’s parents were German Jewish escapees who lost family and property in the Holocaust by searching on the Internet after he lost the arbitration, a commercial case which has absolutely nothing to do with the Jewish religion or the Holocaust. Rohde and the other appellants now claim the arbitration award should be vacated because the arbitrator did not disclose facts about his religion and family background. Their argument is without merit.

Defendants further argue that the trial court should have permitted them to take the arbitrator’s deposition and that a statement of decision regarding the petition to confirm the arbitration award was necessary. Defendants are again wrong, and we…