Ryan Cunningham v. Ronald F. LeGrand and Mountain Country Partners, LLC

Summary

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed the circuit court’s confirmation of an arbitration award against Ryan Cunningham. The court held that “manifest disregard of the law” is not a valid statutory basis for challenging an arbitration award governed by the Federal Arbitration Act. It also rejected challenges based on the arbitrator’s consideration of hearsay evidence and refusal to reopen the proceedings for rebuttal evidence.

Holdings

1. Manifest disregard of the law is not recognized as a valid statutory basis for challenging an arbitration award made pursuant to the Federal Arbitration Act.
2. The arbitrator's consideration of hearsay evidence did not provide a basis for vacating the award because the arbitration rules did not require application of formal judicial rules of evidence and the petitioner failed to show misconduct or prejudice recognized under the FAA.
3. The arbitrator's refusal to reopen the proceeding did not justify vacatur because the decision was a procedural matter within the arbitrator's discretion and Cunningham had not been deprived of the opportunity to present evidence.

Questions Presented

1. Whether manifest disregard of the law is a valid statutory basis for vacating an arbitration award governed by the Federal Arbitration Act.
2. Whether the arbitrator's consideration of hearsay evidence constituted a basis for vacating the award.
3. Whether the arbitrator improperly refused to reopen the arbitration proceeding to permit rebuttal evidence.

Disposition

affirmed