Phillip Chen and Jiang Chen v. DFW Home Services, LLC d/b/a DFW Improved

Summary

The Second Court of Appeals of Texas affirmed a trial court judgment confirming an arbitration award in favor of DFW Home Services, LLC and denying Phillip and Jiang Chen’s motion to vacate. The court held that the appellants failed to provide a sufficient record of the arbitration proceedings to support their statutory vacatur grounds and waived additional complaints by failing to present them to the arbitrator or trial court.

Holdings

1. The Chens failed to meet their burden to establish any statutory ground for vacating the arbitration award because they did not provide a sufficient record of the arbitral proceedings or evidence supporting their allegations. In the absence of an arbitration-hearing record, the court presumed that the evidence supported the award and could not review the arbitrator's alleged conduct.
2. The Chens waived their complaints concerning compulsory counterclaims, the alleged defect in DFW's lien and foreclosure of the homestead estate, venue, and attorney's fees because they did not present those complaints to the arbitrator or the trial court before seeking appellate review. Those arguments constituted an impermissible collateral attack on the arbitration award.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the arbitration award should be vacated because the arbitrator allegedly demonstrated evident partiality, refused to hear material evidence, or conducted the hearing in a manner that substantially prejudiced the Chens' rights.
2. Whether the Chens preserved for appellate review complaints concerning compulsory counterclaims, the validity of DFW's homestead lien and foreclosure, venue, and the reasonableness and necessity of attorney's fees.
3. Whether the absence of a record of the arbitration proceedings prevented the Chens from establishing statutory grounds for vacatur.

Disposition

affirmed