Opinion ID: 782409
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Plausible Reading of Award

Text: 34 Notwithstanding the forgoing interpretation, another reading of the New York arbitral award, one advanced by the district court, makes sense of the arbitral opinion. That court believed the arbitrators' opinion could be read to include an independent finding that the two charters were so substantially identical as to their damage liability provisions that Duferco could be made to indemnify Klaveness. This is supported by the arbitrators' statement that they do not find Klaveness to have waived the safe berth warranty. Once this determination was made, the New York arbitrators could then properly have used collateral estoppel to import the London arbitrators' findings of fact regarding liability against Klaveness, which were certainly fully and fairly litigated in London. These findings of fact could in turn be applied to Duferco's substantially identical safe-berth warranty, so determined independently in New York, to impute liability as Klaveness' indemnitor. 2 35 The New York arbitrators could have found that the time and voyage charters were not sufficiently identical for purposes of finding an obligation to pay attorneys' and arbitrators' fees, and that no finding of the London arbitrators could be imported to support such an award. Since collateral estoppel is issue specific, it is not inconsistent to find it applicable to one issue, but not to another in the same proceeding. This plausible reading of the award resolves its apparent contradiction. See Willemijn Houdstermaatschappij, 103 F.3d at 13. 36 Duferco contests the forgoing reading of the award, stating that it does not reflect the arguments originally made by appellees before the panel. However, whether appellees actually raised the issues reflected in the district court's reading of the award is immaterial. In construing an arbitral award we look only to plausible readings of the award, and not to probable readings of it. Even absent a plausible reading free of error, we would confirm the award if we independently found legal grounds to do so. 37 Finally, the arbitrators' award was not irrational or inexplicable, as appellant contends. Although it only arguably conforms to legal standards, the award evinces the arbitrators' desire not to saddle Klaveness with the burden of Duferco's decision to order the ARISTIDIS into unsafe waters. In any event, it is not our role to substitute our judgment for those of arbitrators hired by the parties — this is why our standard for vacatur is so very high. We review only for a clear demonstration that the panel intentionally defied the law. We find no such evidence here and hence must confirm the award. IV Allocation of Fees and Expenses 38 In a footnote in its brief on appeal, and by implication, appellant maintains that it should only have to pay half of the fees and expenses awarded by the New York panel. Duferco reasons that half of those expenses relate solely to liability from the London award, for which it contends it should not be liable. Gambling on the outcome of this litigation, appellant has unilaterally decided to pay only one half of the $120,000 award made by the arbitrators. Since our holding effectively confirms that award, Duferco is now bound to pay the remaining portion of that award.