Arbitration Ethics Violated.

By the time a medical malpractice case was arbitrated, the lawyer for the defendant doctor was “. . . doing [alternative dispute resolution] with ADR Services, Inc. . . . .”  Neither the lawyer nor the arbitrator revealed to plaintiff that the defense lawyer had joined the arbitrator’s arbitration/mediation firm. The arbitrator found in favor of the defendant doctor. The appellate court ruled the arbitration award had to be vacated, stating:  “Here we conclude that the California Arbitration Act (the Act) (Code of Civil Procedure section 1280, et seq.), and the California Ethics Standards for Neutral Arbitrators in Contractual Arbitrations (Arbitration Ethics Standards) require that the arbitrator disclose the relationship.”  Gray v. Chiu  (Cal. App. Second Dist., Div. 6; January 22, 2013) 212 Cal.App.4th 1355.