Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[KejciorF]

Hi Everybody,

what does to err in law but not the fact mean like below and the "award"???

The parties shall only have recourse to the courts if either party believes that the arbitrator(s) have erred in law (but not of fact) or for the purposes of enforcing any award of the arbitrators.

[CP]

Arbitration is a non-judicial hearing where the arbitrator (or panel of arbitrators), rather than the judge, decides the case. The arbitrator makes his or her award (analogous to the judge's judgment), usually awarding one party money or stating that no money is owed either way.

Ordinarily, arbitration awards may be confirmed by a court, so that the winner can get the award turned into an enforceable judgment, but they cannot be challenged in court except under narrow circumstances. Here, it says that the rule is that only if the arbitrator(s) made an error in applying the law may a party challenge the award, and of course the court may enforce the award by turning it into a judgment. Neither party can challenge the award on the basis that the arbitrators got the facts wrong.

This situation would be unusual in California, where typically the only way one can challenge a binding arbitration award is by proving some sort of fraud, like bribery or intimidation. Good luck with that.
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