1. An appellate court will reverse a contractual
arbitration award if, from the face of the award, it is clear the arbitrator committed an
error of law.
2. The California Code of Civil Procedure gives litigants the right
to stipulate to the appointment of a temporary judge.
3. Parties dissatisfied with the results of a judicial arbitration
are entitled to a trial de novo.
4. If the parties to an agreement clearly intend to combine
procedures from different types of alternative dispute resolutions, courts will enforce
the intent of the parties and allow “hybrid” proceedings.
5. An arbitration agreement can confer jurisdiction on an appellate
court by stipulation.
6. In a general reference, the referee’s statement of decision
is the decision of the court and the trial court may grant a motion for a new trial and
vacate the award of the referee to the same extent as if the judge had heard the matter.
7. Under the Moncharsh decision, an appellate court may reverse an
arbitration award on the ground that an error caused “substantial injustice.”
8. In a contractual arbitration, the arbitrator must follow the law,
but she does not have to abide by the rules of evidence.
9. A judgment following a general reference is appealable, whereas a
judgment following a special reference is not.
10. A trial court may accept, reject, or modify the recommendation of
a referee in a special reference.
11. A well-drafted arbitration agreement can preserve full appellate
review.
12. A sitting judge may not decide a case as an arbitrator.
13. If an agreement is ambiguous as to the form of the alternative
dispute resolution chosen, the court must declare the agreement void.
14. Temporary judges act under the same rules as constitutional trial
judges.
15. Only retired judges can serve as temporary judges.
16. The decision of a temporary judge is subject to the same level of
appellate review as a trial judge.
17. Lawyers shouldn’t concern themselves with advising their
clients about the different forms of alternative dispute resolution because such a
decision usually won’t affect the outcome of a case.
18. If a client’s priority is to minimize appellate review of an
initial decision, the client is generally better off selecting contractual arbitration as
opposed to the other forms of alternative dispute resolution.
19. An agreement for a reference or a judgment rendered by a
temporary judge preserves full appellate review.
20. A stipulation providing for judicial arbitration may limit the
trial court’s review of the award to that permitted in contractual arbitration and at
the same time preserve full appellate review of the award.
CERTIFICATION
 This activity has been approved
for Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit by the State Bar of California in the amount
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The State Bar of California
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prescribed by the rules and regulations of the State Bar of California governing minimum
continuing legal education. |
