Court May Not Review Arbitrability Award During Pending Arbitration, Vt. High Court Rules

MONTPELIER, Vt. — Under the Vermont Arbitration Act, a court may not review questions of arbitrability in the midst of an arbitration and outside the act’s specific review provisions, the Vermont Supreme Court has ruled.

On Oct. 5, the court reversed a trial court’s vacatur of an award in which an arbitrator found that the parties’ arbitration clause allows class arbitration.

In 2003, Michael Bandler and Michael Bandler & Company Inc. sued Charter One Bank in the Rutland (Vt.) Superior Court, accusing it of failing to honor advertising promises and other representations in connection with Bandler's checking account.

Charter One …