The parties' arbitration agreement provided that judicial review of an award would be pursuant to the requirements of the Federal Arbitration Act, at 9 USC §§ 9, 10. The grounds for vacatur at 9 USC § 10(a) are analogous to those specified in CPLR 7511(b)(1). The award addressed each of petitioner's substantive claims and undermines petitioner's arguments that the award reflected a manifest disregard of the law. There is nothing in the record to support petitioner's allegations that the presentment of her case was prejudiced by the arbitrator's decisions regarding discovery and procedure. There is no evidence to support petitioner's claim that the arbitrator exceeded his powers in rendering the award, as the arbitrator enforced the rules and procedures in the arbitration agreement and answered the claims as framed by the parties. By participating in the arbitration, petitioner waived her claim that the arbitrator was biased, and, in any event, the claim is based on speculation that is unsupported by objective facts inconsistent with impartiality. The petition is denied.
Matter of Pezhman v. Bloomingdales, Inc., NY Slip Op 02196 (1st Dep't April 27, 2023)
