THE BROWARD COUNTY PARAPROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION, AN AFFILIATE OF THE BROWARD COUNTY CLASSROOM TEACHERS ASSOCIATION, APPELLANT,
v.
THE SCHOOL BOARD OF BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The Broward County School Board challenged an arbitration award requiring back pay for two teacher aides by attempting to unilaterally deduct unemployment compensation benefits from the award without filing a timely motion to modify. The court reversed, holding that arbitration awards are binding and can only be adjusted through proper judicial procedures within the statutory 90-day window.
The school board lacked the power to adjust the arbitrator's award unilaterally. An arbitration award is binding on both parties unless properly modified through a timely motion to vacate, modify, or correct filed within ninety days. The trial court was obligated to confirm the award as rendered.
[1] An arbitration award must be confirmed by the court unless a motion to vacate, modify, or correct the award is filed within ninety days of receipt of the award.
[2] A party seeking to modify or vacate an arbitration award must file a timely motion with the court; unilateral adjustment of the award by a party is impermissible.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“We cannot accept the school board's contention that it was empowered to adjust the arbitrator's award without the benefit of a motion for modification. Such unilateral action tears at the very heart of the arbitration process.”
Establishes the core principle that arbitration awards cannot be unilaterally modified without proper legal procedures
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAn arbitrator issued a decision on November 6, 1978, requiring the school board to pay two teacher aides their regular rate of pay and restore benefit…
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HURLEY, Judge.
This appeal challenges a provision in the final judgment which permits the appel-lee/school board to deduct unemployment compensation benefits from an arbitration award. We reverse and remand.
On November 6, 1978, an arbitrator issued a written decision in which the appel-lee/school board was required “to pay to grievants [two teacher aides] at their regular rate of pay, and to restore their regular benefits, for the work they would have performed during the period from April 28, 1978 to the end of the 1977-78 school term.” None of the parties to the arbitration filed a motion to vacate, modify or correct the award within ninety days as required by Sections 682.13-14, Florida Statutes (1979). Nonetheless, when appellant sought to confirm the award, appellee claimed a right, as a matter of law, to offset the amount of unemployment compensation benefits received by the teacher aides. The trial court agreed and this appeal ensued.
We cannot accept the school board’s contention that it was empowered to adjust the arbitrator’s award without the benefit of a motion for modification. Such unilateral action tears at the very heart of the arbitration process. Clearly, it was within the arbitrator’s province to resolve the controversy and fashion an appropriate remedy. Thus, the resulting decision was binding on both parties unless properly modified. Irrespective of whether the error was characterized as a miscalculation or if it was founded on the notion that the arbitrator exceeded his powers by awarding a greater sum than the law allowed, appel-lee/school board was obliged to seek judicial relief. Absent a timely motion to vacate, modify or correct the award, the trial court had no discretion but to confirm the award as rendered. In Travelers Insurance Co. v. Allen, 356 So. 2d 1287 (Fla.3d DCA), cert. denied, 364 So. 2d 893 (Fla.1978), our sister court said:
The law is well-settled that a court must confirm an arbitration award upon application of any party to the award unless within ninety (90) days after receipt of the arbitration award a party thereto has filed a motion with the court to vacate, modify or correct the award. This ninety (90) day limit is subject to one exception: if a motion to vacate the award is based on corruption, fraud, or other undue means, the motion must be filed within ninety (90) days after such grounds are known or should have been known to the injured party. If an appropriate motion to vacate, modify or correct the award is not filed within the applicable time periods, the court has no alternative but to confirm the arbitration award. Id. at 1288.
Accordingly, the judgment on appeal is reversed and the cause is remanded with instructions to confirm the award as rendered.
BERANEK and GLICKSTEIN, JJ., concur.
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Goldberger v. Hofco, Inc., 422 So. 2d 898 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982)…. We held that the trial court, unless it vacated or modified the award pursuant to the provisions of the [*900] Arbitration Code, was bound by the terms of the award. Id.; see Broward County Paraprofessional Ass’n v. School Board of Broward County, 406 So. 2d 1252, 1253 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981); Heyman v. Vonelli (Vonelli Construction Co.), 413 So. 2d 1254 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982). In particular, we held that a trial court cannot add interest for the period predating the award when the arbitrators have expressly or impl…
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Blankenship v. Myers, 442 So. 2d 327 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983)…PER CURIAM. Affirmed on the authority of Broward County Paraprofessional Association v. School Board of Broward County, 406 So. 2d 1252 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981) and McDaniel v. Berhalter, 405 So. 2d 1027 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981). LETTS, HERSEY and HURLEY, JJ., concur.…
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Israel v. Costanzo, 216 So. 3d 644 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017)…a., L.L.C., 908 So. 2d 530, 534 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005). “Absent a timely motion to vacate ... [an arbitration] award, [a] trial court ha[s] no discretion but to confirm the award as rendered.” Broward Cty. Paraprof'l Ass’n v. Sch. Bd. of Broward Cty., 406 So. 2d 1252, 1253 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981); see also Schnurmacher Holding, Inc. v. Noriega, 542 So. 2d 1327, 1328 (Fla. 1989) (“Section 682.13(1) sets forth the only grounds upon which an award of an arbitrator ... may be vacated .... ”). “A motion [to vacate] must…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- The Travelers Ins. Co. & the Travelers Indem. Co. v. Allen, 356 So. 2d 1287 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978)