While the case is under California state law, the willingness of the California court to vacate a clearly wrong Arbitrator's award in Buriage v. Superior Court, 2009 DJDAR 14999 is refreshing to see. It appeared in the October 22, 2009 Daily Journal so will be available elsewhere soon.

The Arbitrator made some odd rulings on admissibility of evidence--and then awarded remarkable damages. Its nice to see some willingness to have judicial review of arbitrator's awards, and decisions. It is frustrating however to see that the Court of Appeal refused to identify the specific Arbitrator whose award they refused to allow to stand. I can understand their desire to protect his or her anonymity, but parties don't get that protection in published opinions, and other than wanting to protect a peer, its hard to figure out the reasoning for that decision.