Optimer International, Inc. v. Rp Bellevue
The parties in this case had a contractual dispute. Their contract said that any disputes would be resolved by binding arbitration, meaning no judicial review. The arbitrator screwed up and/or exceeded his authority under the rules laid out in the contract.
One party asked the court to review what the arbitrator did. The other party said, “You can’t do that.” The trial court agreed and said “You can’t do that.”
The Court of Appeals said, “Well, actually their is a new arbitration law that says we can and it applies retroactively to arbitration provisions that were in existence before the new act became law.” The appellate court also said that even thought that particular issue wasn’t raised at the trial court, the trial court should have followed the law and the appellate court should make sure that trial court does.
Finally, the Court of Appeals said that the new act did not unconstitutionally and significantly impair the parties right to contract.
