Summary Case Note – Texas Court Reaffirms Arbitral Immunity From Civil Liability Notwithstanding Neutral Arbitrator’s Nondisclosure

Please click here for the highlighted PDF of this noteworthy Texas Court of Appeals decision reaffirming arbitrators’ immunity to civil liability arising in the context of a building contractor/customer dispute which was referred to a single neutral AAA arbitrator.

Pullara v. American Arbitration Association, Inc., 2006 Tex. App. LEXIS 4081 (Tex. Ct. App. Texarkana, May 11, 2006), rehearing overruled, 2006 Tex. App. LEXIS 4632 (Tex. Ct. App. Texarkana, May 31, 2006):

HELD: “[I]t is the general principle that arbitrators and their sponsoring organizations are immune from civil liability for bias or the failure to disclose a possible source of bias. We adopt that principle.”

Thanks to my colleague Andy Walsh for bringing this interesting case to my attention.