In this case, the Eighth Circuit affirmed a district court decision that an arbitrator was qualified to hear a dispute and did not exceed his powers under the arbitration agreement. In 2000, in an attempt to make itself attractive for public financing, the Crawford Group decided to compensate its senior executives with a package that included awards of stock. William Holekamp retired in 2000 after three decades of working for Crawford and its subsidiary, Enterprise Car Rental. In June of 2004, Crawford attempted to buy back Holekamp’s stock by the terms of the Stock Award and Shareholder Agreement. A Missouri state court ruled that there was an issue with respect to the purchase price of the shares and sent the dispute to arbitration in accordance with the agreement. The arbitrator, chosen by Holekamp but approved by AAA (American Arbitration Association) valued Holekamp’s shares at $20.7 million, rather than the $11.4 million figure at which Crawford had valued them. The Eighth Circuit ruled that the AAA had the final determination as to whether or not the arbitrator was qualified, and the court then applied a deferential standard to the arbitrator’s decision, ruling that the award could not be set aside as long as the arbitrator was “even arguably construing or applying the contract and acting within the scope of his authority.” Crawford Group, Inc. v. Holekamp, No. 07-3454 (8th Cir. Oct. 6, 2008).
This post written by John Black.