Arbitrator Okay
October 14, 2020The Fifth Circuit reversed on an issue about arbitrator disclosure, observing, inter alia: “OOGC hypothesizes that these possible, incidental harms to FTS flowing from a unanimous arbitration panel ruling would make [the arbitrator] think that he needed to rule in FTS’s favor or else it would take him personally to task by declining to retain him in future matters. This is simply too much conjecture. Accepting OOGC’s argument would create an ‘incentive to conduct intensive, after-the-fact investigations to discover the most trivial of relationships,’ undercutting the purpose of arbitration ‘as an
efficient and cost-effective alternative to litigation.'” OOGC America v. Chesapeake Exploration, No. 19-20002 (Sept. 14, 2020).