Hoogendoorn, E v. Craig, L. (concurring)
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J. A30008/13 NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION ERIC HOOGENDOORN AND LISA HOOGENDOORN v. LOUISE I. CRAIG, 3110 TOWNSHIP LOUISE I. CRAIG, D/B/A AND LOUISE I. CRAIG TRUST AND RAYMOND SHANNON APPEAL OF: ERIC HOOGENDOORN, Appellant SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37 : : : : : : : : : : : : : : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA No. 957 EDA 2012 Appeal from the Order Entered March 2, 2012, in the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County Civil Division at No. 09-368 BEFORE: FORD ELLIOTT, P.J.E., WECHT AND MUSMANNO, JJ. CONCURRING STATEMENT BY WECHT, J.: FILED JULY 01, 2014 only to express my concern regarding the ex parte communication between In , 401 A.2d 765, 769 (Pa. Super. 1979), we vacated an arbitration award solely because an attorney for one party contacted one of the arbitrators ex parte to clarify whether the amount awarded was awarded to each plaintiff or to be shared between the plaintiffs.. We did so because the ex parte communication violated the American Arbitration Association rules that the parties in that case agreed to J. A30008/13 utilize in resolving their dispute. On the other hand, we will not vacate an award for reasons of ex parte communication when the arbitration rules agreed to by the parties do not prohibit such contact. See Stack v. Karavan Trailers, Inc., 864 A.2d 551, 559 (Pa. Super. 2004). ex parte communication or post-award procedures. warranted upon that basis. Therefore, vacatur is not However, parties and arbitrators should be careful to refrain from ex parte communication that may give rise to an appearance of impropriety and that may provide a basis for the type of challenge made by Hoogendoorn.1 1 The Code of Ethics for Arbitrators in Commercial Disputes developed by the American Arbitration Association and the International Centre for prospective arbitrator should not discuss a proceeding with any party in the Disputes (2011), at www.adr.org/aaa/faces/arbitratorsmediators/ aboutarbitratorsmediators/codeofethics (last visited June 17, 2014). While the parties did not agree to be bound by these rules and, in general, parties to arbitration may agree to other rules, the Code of Ethics is still informative with regard to the type of behavior expected from arbitrators. -2-
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