Howsam

I. INTRODUCTION

This is an appeal involving an international commercial arbitration. It was conducted pursuant to title 9.3 of the Code of Civil Procedure 1 which is entitled, “Arbitration and Conciliation of International Commercial Disputes.” (§ 1297.11 et seq.) At issue are the arbitration, not the conciliation, provisions. The arbitration provisions are found in sections 1297.11 through 1297.337.

This case involves appeals from a December 22, 2010 judgment following orders confirming three international commercial arbitration awards. The first arbitration award, issued May 3, 2010, was in favor of plaintiff, Comerica Bank, and against defendants Greenlight Film & Television, Inc., Gary Howsam, GFT Circle Films, Inc., Road Rage Films, Inc., Janus Productions, Inc., GFT Going Back Films, Inc., GFT Heresy Films, Inc., GFT/Redwood KOTN Films, Inc., and GFT/Redwood Ignition Films, Inc. The second award, issued July 16, 2010, was in plaintiff’s favor and against Mr. Howsam and Greenlight Film & Television, Inc., and their lawyer, Charles Coate. The third award, issued July 19, 2010, was in plaintiff’s favor and against defendants and Mr. Coate. The trial court refused to…