Court Opinion

ID: 9655780
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 19:21:37.526727+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:13:21.839609
License: Public Domain

Fritz, C. J.
(on motion for rehearing). In our original opinion filed July 3, 1953, in the above action we held that the one-year period made available to the parties to a statutory arbitration proceeding, such as in the instant case, as provided by sec. 298.09, Stats., commences with the filing of the award of the arbitrator with the clerk of court. In other words, the award is not “made,” within the meaning of the statute, until it is so filed. The defendant corporation, in its motion for rehearing, asks us to reconsider this construction of sec. 298.09, Stats., and to hold that the award is made when signed by the arbitrators. Counsel calls our attention to the provisions of sub. (1) of sec. 298.14, Stats., providing as follows:
" (1) Any party to a proceeding for an order confirming, modifying, or correcting an award shall, at the time such order is filed with the clerk for the entry of judgment thereon, also file the following papers with the clerk:
“(a) The agreement, the selection or appointment, if any, of an additional arbitrator or umpire, and each written extension of the time, if any, within which to make the award;
“(b) The award;
“(c) Each notice, affidavit, or other paper used upon an application to confirm, modify, or correct the award, and a copy of each order of the court upon such an application.”
We can construe such subsection no other way than that a party may move for confirmation of the award prior to the filing of the same, inasmuch as the filing is only required to be made at the time the order' for entry of judgment upon the award is filed with the clerk of court. The provisions of sub. (1), of sec. 298.14, Stats., were overlooked by this court in its original opinion wherein we held that the award was not “made” until filed. We felt that the situation with respect to making an award by arbitrators in a statutory arbitration proceeding was analogous to that of a judge sign*357bing an order imhis chambers and not filing the same. In Yanggen v. Wisconsin Michigan Power Co. (1942), 241 Wis. 27, 32, 4 N. W. (2d) 130, we held that such an order signed in chambers was not effective until filed by the clerk of court.
As the award had been “made” prior to March 2, 1951, the year available for plaintiff to move for confirmation of the award had therefore expired by March 2, 1952, when the appeal was perfected in the first appeal to this court.
It is our considered conclusion that, no motion having been made to confirm the award within the one-year period after the same had been signed by the arbitrators, the stipulation to arbitrate and the entire arbitration proceedings are a nullity. Therefore the issues raised by the original complaint and counterclaim must be disposed of by trial in the absence of the parties agreeing on some other method of disposition.
By the Court. — The mandate of the original opinion herein is modified so as to provide that judgment is reversed and cause remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion on the motion for rehearing. No costs are to be taxed upon the motion for rehearing.