A decision, issued by the New Jersey Appellate Division, sided with a defendant and reversed and remanded an Essex County Superior Court ruling, confirming an arbitration award and denying a plaintiff’s request confirming an arbitration award.

The Appellate Division, in an unpublished opinion, reversed and remanded an Essex County Superior Court decision confirming an arbitration award and denying a plaintiff’s request for a trial de novo. The appeals court panel, which included Judges Michael J. Haas and Arnold L. Natali Jr., held that Rules 4:21A-5 and -6(b)(1) must be read together and that the 30-day period in which a party must request a trial de novo commences only when the court provides a copy of the award to the parties, according to the opinion.