Opinion ID: 3001403
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Prostyakov and Masco Corporation.”

Text: Prostyakov then petitioned the district court to confirm Arbitrator Hittle’s award. Masco, in turn, filed a timely motion to vacate the award, see 9 U.S.C. § 12; Webster v. A.T. Kearney, Inc., 507 F.3d 568, 571-74 (7th Cir. 2007), arguing, as relevant here, that Hittle exceeded his powers as arbitrator when fashioning it, see 9 U.S.C. § 10(a)(4). Specifically, Masco reasserted both its challenge to Hittle’s authority to serve as arbitrator because of his affiliation with the AAA, and its argument that the Labor Book dispute fell outside the scope of the Settlement Agreement. Masco also contended that Hittle fashioned an improper award by (1) ignoring the Agreement’s choice-of-law provision when applying the Russian labor code; and (2) forcing Masco to “rewrite history” by ordering it to state in the Executive Order that Prostyakov left Masco on August 15, 2005. The district court rejected Masco’s arguments, agreeing first with Arbitrator Hittle’s determination that he had authority over the dispute because he was selected by Masco and Prostyakov according to the procedure outlined in the Settlement Agreement. The court further agreed that the Labor Book dispute was arbitrable because the Agreement “was intended to resolve all loose ends regarding the failed employment relationship between the parties,” and that the “Labor Book issue certainly was such a loose end.” Finally, the court determined that the award itself was proper. Hittle, the court stated, attempted to apply Indiana’s conflict-of-law provisions accurately when fashioning the award, and thus did not exceed his authority by applying an “unusual amalgam of Indiana and Russian law.” Moreover, the court added, Hittle’s award of the corrective Executive Order was “well within the 10 No. 06-3928 bounds of what the Arbitrator may permissibly require in equity.” The court accordingly denied Masco’s motion, granted Prostyakov’s petition, and confirmed the arbitral award.