Appellate Court Victory Barring Arbitrator from Modifying Original Award

Herrick secured an important victory before the Appellate Division, Second Department, obtaining a ruling affirming the trial court’s decision to overturn a Bet Din arbitration in which the arbitrator issued an additional award against our client after having already rendered a final award.  The plaintiff had argued that the arbitrator’s first award of $425,000 was only an interim judgment and that the agreement vested the arbitrator with continuing authority to issue another award against our client, two years later and involving the same general subject matter, for an additional $3.75 million.  Although courts rarely overturn arbitration awards, the appellate court agreed that the arbitrator lacked the authority to expand the previous award and affirmed the decision on the grounds that the arbitrator was "Functus Officio."