Losing Party Hires Private Investigator To Search For Undisclosed Conflicts With Arbitrator.

In a lot line dispute with neighbors, the losing party brought suit against his lawyers believing their negligence was the cause of the “disastrous results.” The client demanded arbitration with JAMS, and the lawyers counter-claimed for unpaid fees and costs. The arbitrator found the client lacked credibility, and eventually awarded the lawyers $289,028.85. “Shocked” by the arbitrator’s order, the client hired a private investigator to determine whether there existed any undisclosed relationships between the arbitrator and his former counsel or witnesses. The private investigator discovered the following: the arbitrator and the head of the lawyers’ appellate department were both members of the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Appellate Executive Committee Section; the arbitrator and the lawyers’ expert witness in the arbitration, appeared together as panelists for various seminars and were both members of the board of governors of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers; the arbitrator was employed as an attorney at a firm which represents lawyers in malpractice actions; and his former attorneys appeared before the arbitrator when he was a district court judge in 2006. These undisclosed relationships formed the basis for the client’s petition to vacate the arbitration award and oppose the petition to confirm the award. The trial court entered judgment in favor of the lawyers. The Court of Appeal found no failure to disclose and affirmed.  Nemecek & Cole v. Horn   (Cal. App. Second Dist., Div. 8: August 15, 2012) 208 Cal.App.4th 641.