Roy v. Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra Society Inc., Musicians Ass'n of Buffalo New York Local No. 92

In 2012 the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra Society (BPO) (defendant) fired Pierre Roy (plaintiff) after receiving numerous complaints from musicians regarding Roy’s disruptive behavior. Roy filed a grievance against the BPO. Pursuant to the parties’ collective-bargaining agreement, the matter was heard by an arbitrator, who determined that the termination was consistent with the agreement. The arbitrator awarded one year’s pay to Roy, and Roy filed a motion in federal district court to vacate the award. The district court denied Roy’s motion to vacate, and Roy appealed. Roy argued that the arbitrator (1) committed misconduct by refusing to admit records and a transcript into evidence regarding two meetings in dispute; (2) exceeded his powers by hearing testimony regarding complaints about Roy’s musical competence, despite provisions within the parties’ collective-bargaining agreement that did not allow arbitration for allegations of musical incompetence; and (3) engaged in corruption and misconduct by improperly crediting the testimony of BPO’s witnesses without crediting the testimony of Roy’s witnesses. Regarding (1), the arbitrator stated that the first meeting was not a factor in his overall decision and that the events during the second meeting were substantiated by the testimony of the maestro and nine other musicians, who all testified that Roy purposefully played beneath his musical abilities to sabotage other musicians. Roy also claimed that the award was against public policy, arguing that it was difficult to find new employment for musicians because the positions were limited.