Appellate review of national arbitration forum arbitration awards

The Alternative Procedure for Dispute Resolution Act (APDRA), N.J.S.A. 2A:23A-1 to -30, declares that, following a trial court's judgment confirming, modifying or correcting an award, “[t]here shall be no further appeal or review,” N.J.S.A. 2A:23A-18(b). Notwithstanding, it has been recognized that appellate courts retain supervisory jurisdiction to ensure that trial courts limit their review of arbitration awards to the circumstances authorized by N.J.S.A. 2A:23A-13. Here, the court held that so long as a trial court rationally articulates that correction of an award is required by one of the grounds set forth in N.J.S.A. 2A:23A-13, appellate courts are not free to intervene even when believing the trial court was mistaken in correcting the award. Any broader view of appellate jurisdiction would eviscerate N.J.S.A. 2A:23A-18(b) and conflict with the Legislature's expressed desire, in enacting APDRA, to eliminate appellate review. [Approved for publication.]

Case Law Alert - 2nd Qtr 2010