Court Opinion

ID: 9486404
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 11:47:06.438893+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:51:42.459754
License: Public Domain

CUDAHY, Circuit Judge,
with whom ESCHBACH, Circuit Judge, joins, concurring:
It is time to put this difficult-to-decide case behind us, and I think Judge Rovner’s opinion does that with great skill. This is not to say, however, that I find Judge Grady’s concerns in coming to the opposite conclusion less than weighty. I think I agree with Judge Grady that “[n]o one in his right mind would agree to have a matter decided by umpires selected entirely by one’s adversary.” Maj.Op. at 129. Applying this principle here seems to leave us with at least one delusional insurance company.
And we have yet to see what result will emerge from this lopsided arbitration. Perhaps, the award will be vulnerable on the basis of partiality as the majority suggests. Maj.Op. at 129, n. 2. Perhaps having all the arbitrators selected by one party renders the proceeding per se partial. How one is to determine in these circumstances whether the arbitrators have carried out their duty of fairness is something of a puzzle. Id. It is, however, clear that two sophisticated parties entered into this arrangement of their own accord, and this may be all that counts. Only time will tell.