Union Square Limited v. Mr. Bar-B-Q Products LLC

Background

Union Square filed a petition on December 23, 2021, asking the court to confirm an arbitration award issued by Stephen S. Strick. The petition sought confirmation of the Second Partial Final Award issued on December 3, 2021. During the proceedings, Mr. Bar-B-Q Products LLC moved to stay the case so it could continue making payments, while Union Square sought summary judgment confirming the award. Mr. Bar-B-Q Products LLC later argued that the petition should be dismissed because it had satisfied the award.

Union Square notified the court that Mr. Bar-B-Q Products LLC had tendered payment of the balance of the award and that the escrow had been fully funded. The parties later appeared before the arbitrator regarding a disagreement about the amount owed, and Union Square notified the court that Mr. Bar-B-Q Products LLC had paid the award in full. The court then allowed Union Square to file a corrected motion to confirm the award. Mr. Bar-B-Q Products LLC did not oppose that motion.

Legal standard

Under the Federal Arbitration Act, a court must confirm an arbitration award unless a statutory ground exists to vacate, modify, or correct it. The grounds for vacating an award include corruption, fraud, evident partiality, certain forms of arbitrator misconduct, and an arbitrator exceeding his powers. The court also recognized that an award may be set aside if it was issued in “manifest disregard of the law,” meaning the arbitrator knowingly disregarded a clearly applicable legal rule. The showing required to avoid confirmation is very high.

The court treated an unopposed petition to confirm an arbitration award as an unopposed motion for summary judgment. Summary judgment is appropriate when there is no genuine dispute about a material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment under the law. Even an unopposed motion must be denied if the undisputed facts do not establish that entitlement.

Ruling

The court reviewed the petition, the corrected motion, and the arbitration award and found no genuine issue of material fact. It found no indication that the award was obtained through corruption, fraud, or undue means; contained miscalculations; or resulted from arbitrator partiality, corruption, misconduct, or an arbitrator exceeding his powers. The court also held that Mr. Bar-B-Q Products LLC’s compliance with the award did not prevent the court from confirming it.

The court granted Union Square’s corrected motion, and the arbitration award was confirmed. The court ordered Union Square to file any motion for attorneys’ fees and costs within 30 days after entry of the opinion and order. It did not decide or award those fees and costs in this opinion. The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate the motion at Document 73.