Denial Order Is Not Appealable, Only the Judgment Confirming the Award.
The next case is a reminder to all that you must research what can and cannot be appealed when dealing with corrections to arbitration awards. The aggrieved plaintiff learned that all too well in the next decision we examine.
Bader v. Askins, Case No. G042032 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Mar. 25, 2010) (unpublished) involved a post-arbitration dispute where plaintiff had obtained an arbitration award of a little over $15,000 but where arbitrator refused to award fees because recovery was predicated upon an oral agreement. Plaintiff filed a motion to compel the arbitrator to award fees with the superior court, which was denied.
Plaintiff then appealed.
The appeal was dismissed. The reason? Mid-Wilshire Associates v. O’Leary, 7 Cal.App.4th 1450 (1992). Plaintiff’s motion was really a petition to correct the arbitrator’s award, and Mid-Wilshire established that no appeal lies from a denial of a petition to vacate an arbitration award (because the appeal actually lies from the judgment of confirmation, which did not yet exist). As luck would have it, Justice O’Leary of the Fourth District, Division 3 authored the Bader opinion on behalf of a 3-0 panel. Different O’Leary, same result.
Put the Blame on Mame – The Real Story Behind the Chicago Fire.