Arbitrator Did Not Act With Evident Partiality by Ordering Briefing on Timeliness Issue, N.Y. Judge Rules

NEW YORK — An arbitrator did not act with evident partiality by ordering briefing on a statute of limitations issue, a New York federal judge has ruled, explaining that arbitrators may solicit briefing on potentially dispositive issues, especially when both parties are afforded an opportunity to brief the matter.

On July 17, Judge Naomi R. Buchwald of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York found vacatur of the arbitration award is not warranted because there is no evident that the arbitrator had any “personal interest, pecuniary or otherwise” in the outcome of the arbitration.

Cellu-Beep, a …