The Fourth Circuit considered whether an arbitrator manifestly disregarded the law by failing to find actual damages and failing to award sufficient attorney’s fees against certain non-profit credit repair companies, despite the arbitrator’s finding that the companies had made inadequate disclosures under the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA). Regarding damages, the arbitrator had determined that plaintiffs were not entitled to “amount[s] paid” under the CROA as damages, because plaintiffs made “voluntary contributions” to the non-profit credit repair organizations, rather than actual payments contemplated within the meaning of the CROA. The Fourth Circuit held that, given the absence of binding precedent requiring a contrary interpretation of the CROA, the arbitrator’s ruling “did not constitute a refusal to heed a clearly defined legal principle.” The court further noted that it was not for it “to pass judgment on the strength of the arbitrator’s chosen rationale.” Similarly, with respect to the arbitrator’s ruling on attorney’s fees, the Fourth Circuit held that while “it may be debatable whether the arbitrator performed [the] task ‘well,’ the record in this case shows that the arbitrator undertook a careful analysis of the applicable legal principles and reached a decision supported by his interpretation of our precedent.” In reaching its decision, the Fourth Circuit considered certain U.S. Supreme Court rulings in making clear that the “limited review” of an arbitration award is appropriate even when “the arbitrator considered remedies created by statute, rather than rights established by contract.” Jones, et al. v. Dancel, et al., Case No. 14-2160 (4th Cir. July 6, 2015).
This post written by Michael Wolgin.
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