Vincent Builders, Inc. v. American Application Systems, Inc.

547 A.2d 1381, 16 Conn. App. 486, 1988 Conn. App. LEXIS 486
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedSeptember 27, 1988
Docket6198
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 547 A.2d 1381 (Vincent Builders, Inc. v. American Application Systems, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Appellate Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vincent Builders, Inc. v. American Application Systems, Inc., 547 A.2d 1381, 16 Conn. App. 486, 1988 Conn. App. LEXIS 486 (Colo. Ct. App. 1988).

Opinion

Dupont, C. J.

The plaintiff appeals from the judgment of the trial court granting the defendant’s application to confirm an arbitration award and denying the plaintiff’s application to vacate that arbitration award. The plaintiff claims that the trial court erred (1) in refusing to vacate the arbitration award on the ground that it was made in favor of the “wrong party,” American Application Systems, Inc., a New York corporation which was not a party to the contract that is the subject of this dispute, (2) in finding that the plaintiff waived its claim that the “wrong party” demanded arbitration, (3) in ruling that any defect in the oath taken by the arbitrators at the commencement of the arbitration proceedings was rectified by the subsequent proper administration of the oath, (4) in refusing to consider evidence that the plaintiff proffered after the close of the arbitration hearings, (5) in ruling that the plaintiff failed to prove that one of the arbitrators was biased against it, and (6) in concluding that the plaintiff failed to prove that one of the arbitrators engaged in improper ex parte communication with the defendant’s attorney and representatives of the defendant corporation.

The following facts are relevant to this appeal. The plaintiff entered into a contract with the defendant for the installation of drywall and exterior walls on two condominium projects. The contract provided that all disputes arising under the contract were to be decided by arbitration. Pursuant to the contract, the defendant filed a demand for arbitration, which proceedings required twelve hearings over a two month period.1 Subsequent to the close of the hearings but prior to the arbitrators’ award, the plaintiff sought to open the [488]*488hearings to present new evidence regarding the defendant’s allegation of damages. This request was denied. The arbitrators’ award was rendered in favor of the defendant in the amount of $149,646, plus legal interest.

“Arbitration is favored by courts as a means of settling differences and expediting the resolution of disputes.” Wolf v. Gould, 10 Conn. App. 292, 296, 522 A.2d 1240 (1987). “There is no question that arbitration awards are generally upheld and that we give great deference to an arbitrator’s decision since arbitration is favored as a means of settling disputes.” Hartford v. Local 760, 6 Conn. App. 11, 13, 502 A.2d 429 (1986). “The party challenging the award bears the burden of producing evidence sufficient to invalidate or avoid it, and only upon a showing that it ‘falls within the proscriptions of § 52-4182 of the General Statutes, or procedurally violates the parties' agreement’ will the determination of an arbitrator be subject to judicial inquiry.” O & G/O’Connell Joint Venture v. Chase Family Limited Partnerhip No. 3, 203 Conn. 133, 145-46, 523 A.2d 1271 (1987).

The plaintiffs first claim is that the arbitration award was erroneously made in favor of American Application Systems, Inc., a New York corporation, rather [489]*489than the defendant, American Application Systems, Inc., of New Jersey, the party that entered into the contract with the plaintiff. The plaintiff argues that by so rendering the award, the arbitrators exceeded their authority under the contractual agreement between the plaintiff and the defendant providing for arbitration and, consequently, the arbitration award should be vacated.

It is not disputed that the defendant mistakenly filed its demand for arbitration in the name of American Application Systems, Inc., and that the arbitration award was in fact made in favor of American Application Systems, Inc. The record is clear, however, that both parties entered into the arbitration proceedings without raising any question as to the status of the defendant and that there was no question that American Application Systems, Inc., of New Jersey was the corporation appearing at the arbitration proceedings. Furthermore, the defendant’s counsel stipulated at trial that the arbitration award solely concerned American Application Systems, Inc., of New Jersey and that it, rather than American Application Systems, Inc., was the actual party in interest. Our review of the record fully supports the trial court’s conclusion “that the inaccurate naming of the actual party concerned had no bearing on either the arbitration or its outcome.” There is an absence of any prejudice to the plaintiff due to the inaccurate naming of the defendant in the arbitration award and, therefore, there is no merit to the plaintiff’s argument.

The plaintiff’s second claim is that the trial court erred in finding that, pursuant to rule 38 of the Construction Industry Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association (AAA),3 the plaintiff waived [490]*490any objection it may have had to the naming of the “wrong party.”

The plaintiff does not dispute that it did not object to the defendant’s status until after the close of the arbitration proceedings. The plaintiff argues, however, that since it was unaware of the existence of the New York corporation, American Application Systems, Inc., until after the close of the arbitration proceedings, the principle that “[a] necessary element to waiver is the requisite knowledge of the right”; Reinke v. Greenwich Hospital Assn., 175 Conn. 24, 27, 392 A.2d 966 (1978); has not been met in this case. We disagree.

The plaintiff entered into a contract with American Application Systems, Inc., of New Jersey, but received the demand for arbitration in the name of American Application Systems, Inc. The plaintiff could have raised this discrepancy at any time during the two month period in which the arbitration proceedings took place. The plaintiff’s argument that it was unaware of the existence of American Application Systems, Inc., until after the close of the arbitration proceedings only makes clear that the plaintiff did not question the status of the defendant throughout the course of the arbitration proceedings. Under these circumstances, the trial court did not err in finding that the plaintiff had waived any objection to the inaccurate naming of the defendant in the arbitration proceedings.

The plaintiff’s third claim is that the trial court erred in ruling that any defect in the oath taken by the arbitrators at the commencement of the arbitration proceedings was rectified by the subsequent proper admin[491]*491istration of the oath.4 At the commencement of the arbitration proceedings, all three arbitrators, led by arbitrator Henry T. Jevne, swore to “faithfully and fairly hear and examine the matters in controversy and make a just award to the best of [their] understanding.” Following the second day of hearings, arbitrator Glen T. Cunningham executed a written notarized oath; following the third day of hearings, arbitrator Dan S. Brock also executed a written, notarized oath.5

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547 A.2d 1381, 16 Conn. App. 486, 1988 Conn. App. LEXIS 486, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vincent-builders-inc-v-american-application-systems-inc-connappct-1988.