Intermediate Arbitration Rulings are Not Appealable, Wis. Appeals Court Rules

MADISON, Wis. - A party generally may not seek immediate trial court review of an arbitration panel's intermediate decision and must wait to challenge that decision until the panel has rendered a final award, a Wisconsin appellate court has ruled in an issue of first impression. Marlowe v. IDS Property Casualty Insurance Co., No. 2011AP2067 (Wis. App. Ct.).

In a March 13 opinion, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals further ruled that arbitrators, not courts, have exclusive authority to interpret arbitration agreements to determine what discovery procedures they permit.

IDS Property Casualty Insurance Company appealed a Brown County Circuit Court judge's …