Following the district court’s confirmation of an arbitration award of damages to Seaborne Virgin Islands, National Aerotech Aviation appealed to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals arguing that the district court “improperly and erroneously weighed the material facts” in determining whether the arbitrator acted in manifest disregard of the law. The 11th Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision, concluding that Aerotech had offered no evidence to suggest that the arbitrator deliberately ignored the law, and further holding that Georgia law explicitly allows parties to a contract to agree to liquidated damages. Thus, the district court did not err in granting summary judgment in favor of Seaborne. Aviation’s final argument – that the district court should have allowed discovery to proceed – was quickly dismissed by the Court, noting that district courts are granted wide discretion in ruling on discovery motions. National Aerotech Aviation, Inc. v. Seaborne Virgin Islands, Inc., Case No. 09-3252 (11th Cir. July 19, 2010).
This post written by John Black.