Honchariw

DISCUSSION

I. Standard of Review and Governing Law

An arbitrator’s decision “is not generally reviewable for errors of fact or law, whether or not such error appears on the face of the award and causes substantial injustice to the parties.” (Moncharsh v. Heily & Blase (1992) 3 Cal.4th 1, 6 (Moncharsh).) 2 Code of Civil Procedure section 1286.2 provides

2 The parties dispute whether the trial court conducted a de novo review of the arbitral decision in addition to its deferential review and the trial court order itself is not clear on the standards employed. As explained, infra, we review the arbitrator’s decision on a de novo basis. Therefore, the

3 an exception to this general rule where “[t]he arbitrators exceeded their powers and the award cannot be corrected without affecting the merits of the decision upon the controversy submitted.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 1286.2, subd. (a)(4); see also, City of Palo Alto v. Service Employees Internat. Union (1999) 77 Cal.App.4th 327, 333.) “Arbitrators may exceed their powers by issuing an award that violates a party’s unwaivable statutory rights or that contravenes an explicit legislative expression of public policy. [Citations.]”…