Teamsters Local 506 v. E.D. Clapp Corp.

Pursuant to a collective-bargaining agreement, Teamsters Local 506 (union) (plaintiff) and E.D. Clapp Corporation (Clapp) (defendant) submitted a dispute to arbitration. On July 1, 1981, the arbitrator held a meeting whose events were disputed. Clapp claimed that evidence regarding the arbitrability of the dispute and the merits was presented in a hearing. The union responded that Clapp’s president allowed no evidence regarding the merits and also claimed that the meeting was not truly a hearing. The parties then agreed to a second meeting with the arbitrator, which took place on September 1, 1981. The parties also disputed the exact nature of this meeting. The union claimed that the meeting ended with the arbitrator quitting in the middle of it. Clapp did not dispute that the meeting ended early but claimed that the arbitrator did not resign from the case. Because the meeting ended early, both sides were not able to present evidence. After the September meeting, both parties engaged in a series of ex parte communications with the arbitrator. On November 12, 1981, the arbitrator issued an order holding that the dispute was not arbitrable under the collective-bargaining agreement. The union petitioned to vacate the order under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), claiming that (1) the arbitrator engaged in misbehavior by having ex parte communications with Clapp, (2) the arbitrator showed partiality and entered the award by fraud, (3) the arbitrator had no authority to issue a decision because he resigned during the September meeting, and (4) the arbitrator refused to hear pertinent evidence.