Austin boutique Yetter Coleman sought to disqualify an arbitrator from a client matter, after one of its name partners scored a Texas Supreme Court victory against the arbitrator’s former firm. But the 1st Court of Appeals rejected the move.
“It’s an unfortunate development in Texas that, frequently, the arbitration award marks the start of litigation and not the conclusion of litigation. And, as a consequence of this, a cottage industry of challenging arbitration awards has developed,” says Charles Schwartz, a partner in Houston’s Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, who represents Port Arthur Steam Energy LP at the 1st Court. “And post-award litigation is expensive and deprives the party’s benefit of its bargain when it contracts for arbitration. In my opinion the decision will go a long way towards deterring this sort of post-award litigation.”
