Opinion ID: 74571
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Propriety of the Arbitrator’s Decision

Text: 9 Brown also appeals the district court’s refusal to vacate the arbitrator’s award, arguing that the award was arbitrary and capricious and evidenced a manifest disregard for the law. Brown, however, bears the burden of asserting sufficient grounds to vacate the award. Scott, 141 F.3d at 1014. Furthermore, an award cannot be vacated as arbitrary and capricious unless no ground for the decision can be inferred from the facts. Raiford v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, 903 F.2d 1410, 1413 (11th Cir. 1990). Brown has not met his burden here. The arbitrator made a finding of fact that the decision not to offer Brown continuing employment was a unilateral one by Latina Cunningham. There is evidence to support this finding in the record. Compare Ainsworth v. Skurnick, 960 F.2d 939, 941 (11th Cir. 1992) (finding an award arbitrary and capricious where “[t]here is simply no explanation in the award itself why damages were not awarded.”) Since we cannot say that the arbitrator’s decision was not grounded in fact, the assertion that the award was arbitrary and capricious must fail. Brown has also failed to show that the arbitrator acted with manifest disregard for the law. Arbitration awards will not be reversed due to an erroneous interpretation of law by the arbitrator. Montes v. Shearson Lehman Bros., Inc., 128 F.3d 1456, 1460 (11th Cir. 1997). “To manifestly disregard the law, one must be conscious of the law 10 and deliberately ignore it.” Id. at 1461. In Montes, we found manifest disregard and remanded for a new arbitration proceeding because the arbitration panel was specifically asked by a party to disregard the law, and their award provided no reasons for their decision that would indicate that the request had not been followed. There are no such circumstances here. Brown argues that the arbitrator applied the wrong legal test in assessing his retaliation claim, but does not assert that this alleged error was intentional or that the arbitrator made a conscious decision not to follow the appropriate legal standard. Even if the arbitrator applied the wrong standard, which we need not decide, no manifest disregard for the law has been shown, and Brown’s argument fails. The district court properly denied the motion to vacate the award. As a final matter, Brown argues that the failure of JAMS to inform him of his right to appeal or to grant an appeal of the arbitrator’s award was procedurally deficient. There is no evidence that Brown did not have a copy of the JAMS rules indicating that appeal was possible. Second, the language of JAMS Rule 6 is permissive. The case administrator “may ask” the parties if they agree to an optional appeal process. Brief of Appellant, at 40. Finally, both parties must agree in order for the appeal process to be binding. While it is possible that ITT would have agreed to bind itself to an appeal process if asked at the preliminary hearing, nothing prevented Brown from raising the issue himself once the case administrator failed to do so. We 11 find no prejudice from the case administrator’s failure to request the parties’ consent to the appeal process as Brown had no unilateral right to appeal under the JAMS rules.