Justia New York Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Respondent, a 36-year-old tenured high school teacher, was the subject of disciplinary charges pursuant to Education Law 3020-a as a result of her improper conduct with respect to a 15-year-old male student. Petitioner commenced this proceeding pursuant to CPLR 7511 to vacate the arbitration award, arguing that the penalty imposed was irrational and contrary to the public policy of protecting children. The court held that the arbitration award did not violate public policy where the award, on it's face, was neither prohibited by statute nor common law. The court also held that the award was not arbitrary, capricious, or irrational where the hearing officer engaged in thorough analysis of the facts and circumstances, evaluated respondent's credibility, and arrived at a reasoned conclusion that a 90-day suspension and reassignment was the appropriate penalty. Accordingly, the judgment was affirmed. View "City School Dist. of the City of New York v McGraham" on Justia Law

Petitioner sought to vacate a unanimous arbitration award in favor of Sirius arising out of a breach of contract dispute. Petitioner, which had a non-exclusive agreement with Sirius to distribute radio receivers, claimed that the chairman of the arbitration panel failed to disclose relationships of interest that affected the impartiality and propriety of the arbitration process. The court adopted the Second Circuit's reasonable person standard and held that the Appellate Division erred by imposing upon petitioner a "burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that any impropriety or misconduct of the arbitrator prejudiced its rights." The court held, however, that the Appellate Division correctly determined that there was no basis to vacate the arbitration award. Accordingly, the order was affirmed. View "U.S. Electronics, Inc. v Sirius Satellite Radio, Inc." on Justia Law