Toll Naval Associates v. Chun-Fang Hsu

85 A.3d 521
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 30, 2014
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 85 A.3d 521 (Toll Naval Associates v. Chun-Fang Hsu) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Toll Naval Associates v. Chun-Fang Hsu, 85 A.3d 521 (Pa. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

OPINION BY

BENDER, P.J.

Toll Naval Associates (“Toll” or “Appellant”) appeals from the judgment entered against it on February 12, 2013, confirming an arbitration award arising out of a real estate dispute, initiated by Chun-Fang Hsu (“Hsu” or “Appellee”), an individual.1 Additionally, Toll appeals from an order entered March 18, 2013, entered subsequent to its appeal from the entry of judgment. That order concerned the trial court’s management of its dockets. After review, we vacate the March 2013 order and affirm the entry of judgment.

The trial court related the following factual and procedural history:

An agreement of sale was entered between Hsu and Toll Brothers on October 21, 2007, to purchase a condominium at 100 Captains Way in Philadelphia. After the sale had been completed, Hsu complained that his property was without a proper parking spot. As a result, in March 2009 Toll Brothers and Hsu entered a settlement agreement which deeded Hsu a parking spot at the aforementioned property. Within the settlement agreement, Toll Brothers received a general release of all potential claims Hsu may have against Toll Brothers.
In June 2009 Hsu filed an action claiming Toll Brothers conveyed a condominium that was roughly 300 square feet less than the sale agreement required. Hsu filed a claim with the American Arbitration Association pursuant to the Agreement of Sale. Toll Brothers contended that the matter should be dismissed because of Hsu’s general release in the parking spot dispute. Counsel for Hsu and Toll Brothers each submitted letter briefs on the issue to the Arbitrator, Samuel A. Karsch. The Arbitrator, after reviewing arguments by counsel and the release itself, issued an order that found the general release had no application to the dispute at issue. Thereafter, Karsch conducted a hearing on the matter and issued a decision on December 5, 2011, in which he found in favor of Hsu and awarded $94,795.
On [January 4, 2012], Toll Brothers filed a motion to vacate the arbitration award under Toll Naval Associates v. Chun-Fang Hsu CCP 1201-0303. The matter was assigned to the Honorable Judge Leon Tucker, who denied the motion [on February 21, 2012], Toll Brother’s motion to vacate included the argument that Kars[c]h failed to give weight to the general release in their settlement [524]*524agreement with Hsu; and this irregularity caused the rendition of an unjust, inequitable or unconscionable] arbitration award.
On July 19, 2012 Hsu filed this Petition to confirm the Arbitrator’s Award which was assigned to this court. Toll filed a response, the court heard oral argument and on November 28, 2012 this court granted the Petition and confirmed the award.
This court’s Order confirmed the arbitration award and further directed that . judgment be entered by the Pro-thonotary upon Praecipe filed by Petitioner.” On February 13, 2013, Hsu’s counsel filed a Praecipe for Judgment and Judgment was entered. Toll Brothers filed this timely appeal. At this point the record becomes confusing. Apparently in the case before Judge Tucker, Toll Brothers had filed an appeal to the Superior Court. The appeal was quashed because no judgment had been entered. On December 5, 2012, Toll Brothers filed a Motion to consolidate this case with Judge Tucker’s case. Prior to that date neither party had requested a consolidation. In error, this court granted the consolidation on December 31, 2012.[2] In March, when the appeals were filed, this court discovered the error and by Order issued March 18, 2013, vacated the December 31st consolidation Order. This procedural confusion has no effect on merits of the case.

Trial Court Opinion (T.C.O.), 5/15/13, at 1-3 (unpaginated) (footnote omitted).

On appeal, Appellant raises five issues for our review:

1.Did the trial court commit a manifest abuse of discretion or error of law by denying a Petition to Vacate an arbitration award where the arbitrator ruled on the enforceability of a prior settlement agreement between the parties without affording appellant Toll Naval Associates (“Toll”) a “hearing wherein each party shall have the opportunity to know the claims of [its] opponent, to hear evidence introduced against [it], to cross-examine witnesses, to introduce evidence in [its] own behalf and to make argument” as required pursuant to this Court’s decision in Andrew v. CUNA Brokerage Services, Inc., 976 A.2d 496 (Pa.Super.2009)?
2. Did the trial court commit a manifest abuse of discretion or error of law by denying a Petition to Vacate an arbitration award where the arbitrator ignored the plain and unambiguous language of a prior Settlement Agreement between the parties that contains a broad general release that should have prohibited the claims on which the arbitration award was based?
3. Did the trial court commit a manifest abuse of discretion or error of law by denying a Petition to Vacate an arbitration award where the arbitrator entered an award that is contrary to the well-established public policy favoring the settlement of civil disputes?
4. Did the trial court commit a manifest abuse of discretion or error of law by denying a Petition to Vacate an arbitration award that is unjust, inequitable or unconscionable result because it holds Toll liable after Toll paid good and valuable consideration for appellee Chun-Fang Hsu to release “any and all claims ... known or unknown ... arising out of any matter ... including without limitation: any Claims relating to or arising [525]*525out of the Hsus’ home buying experience at Toll.”
5. Did the trial court’s March 18, 2013 Order entered after Toll had already filed its Notices of Appeal violate Pa. R.A.P. 1701?

Appellant’s Brief at 5-6.3

Our standard of review of common law arbitration is limited: •

The award of an arbitrator in a nonjudicial arbitration which is not subject to statutory arbitration or to a similar statute regulating nonjudicial arbitration proceedings is binding and may not be vacated or modified unless it is clearly shown that a party was denied a hearing or that fraud, misconduct, corruption or other irregularity caused the rendition of an unjust, inequitable or unconscionable award. The arbitrators are the final judges of both law and fact, and an arbitration award is not subject to reversal for a mistake of either. A trial court order confirming a common law arbitration award will be reversed only for an abuse of discretion or an error of law.

U.S. Claims, Inc. v. Dougherty, 914 A.2d 874, 876 (Pa.Super.2006) (internal citations omitted); 42 Pa.C.S. § 7341. “The appellant bears the burden to establish both the underlying irregularity and the resulting inequity by clear, precise, and indubitable evidence.” McKenna v. Sosso, 745 A.2d 1, 4 (Pa.Super.1999).

Andrew v. CUNA Brokerage Services, Inc., 976 A.2d 496

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Bluebook (online)
85 A.3d 521, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/toll-naval-associates-v-chun-fang-hsu-pasuperct-2014.