ASARCO, LLC v. United Steel, Paper and Forestry, No. 16-16363 (9th Cir. 2018)
Annotate this CaseThe Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's order affirming an arbitration award for the union. ASARCO argued that the award was invalid because the arbitrator reformed the Basic Labor Agreement (BLA) between the union and ASARCO in contravention of a no-add provision in that agreement. The district court affirmed the award, holding that ASARCO properly preserved its objection to the arbitrator's jurisdiction, but the arbitrator was authorized to reform the BLA, despite the no-add provision, based on a finding of mutual mistake. The panel affirmed, holding that the arbitrator was acting within his authority when he crafted a remedy to cure the parties' mutual mistake. Even if ASARCO did not waive its right to contest the arbitrator's jurisdiction, which it did, the panel deferred to the arbitrator's judgment.
Court Description: Labor Law The panel affirmed the district court’s order affirming an arbitration award in favor of a union, which sought relief concerning a pension provision in the parties’ collective bargaining agreement. The employer asserted that the arbitrator reformed the collective bargaining agreement in contravention of a no-add provision in the agreement. The district court held that the arbitrator was authorized to reform the agreement, despite the no-add provision, based on a finding of mutual mistake. The panel held that the employer did not properly preserve its objection to the arbitrator’s jurisdiction because the employer conceded that the union’s grievance was arbitrable and failed to expressly preserve the right to contest jurisdiction in a judicial proceeding. The panel further held that the arbitration award drew its essence from the
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on December 4, 2018.
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