28 Conn. App. 337 | Conn. App. Ct. | 1992
The plaintiff, Greater Bridgeport Transit District (district), appeals from the trial court’s judgment denying its application to vacate an arbitration award brought pursuant to General Statutes § 52-418 and concomitantly granting the application of the defendant, Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1336 (union), for an order confirming the award.
On appeal, the district claims that the trial court improperly determined that (1) the arbitrator was authorized to render an award, (2) his award conformed to the submission, and (3) the submission involved an agreement between the parties that is required by federal law. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
The pertinent facts are as follows. The district, a public entity serving the elderly and handicapped, employs union members to perform vehicle maintenance. The parties’ collective bargaining agreement provides for arbitration and states in part that “[t]he decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding upon the parties,” and that the arbitrator’s authority “shall be limited to interpreting and applying the provisions” of the agreement.
In June, 1990, the union commenced grievance proceedings alleging that maintenance on certain vehicles was not being performed by its members as required by the collective bargaining agreement. The parties proceeded to arbitration, and a single, neutral arbitrator was appointed by the American Arbitration Association. On the first day of arbitration, October 25,1990, the union’s counsel stated that a three member panel made up of a neutral arbitrator and one chosen by each party should hear the dispute. After some off-the-record discussion, the arbitrator suggested that the hearing proceed and include argument as to whether a three member panel was required. The arbitrator would then issue a draft decision on both the substantive dispute and the issue of who should have arbitrated the matter. The parties were told that if the arbitrator found that the hearing should have been heard by a three member panel, he would present his draft decision to the parties so they could request such a panel that would then review and vote on the draft decision. The union’s counsel agreed to these procedures. The district’s counsel objected, but nevertheless participated in the hearing that day and throughout further hearings.
On May 24,1991, the district moved in the Superior Court to vacate the arbitration award, claiming that the arbitrator had exceeded his authority under General Statutes § 52-418 (a) (4). On June 17, 1991, the defendant moved to confirm the award. On October 9, 1991, the trial court issued a memorandum of decision denying the district’s request to vacate the arbitration award and granting the union’s request for confirmation. This appeal followed.
The district first claims that the arbitrator lacked authority to render an award because he ultimately determined that a three member arbitration panel should decide the grievance. We disagree.
Here, the trial court found that the parties’ contracts provided that disputes are to be arbitrated in accordance with their collective bargaining agreement, and that an arbitration decision is final and binding on the parties. The court also determined that the parties did not restrict the submission so as to authorize the arbitrator to consider only the specific grievance at issue. As a result, determination of whether a single arbitrator was permissible or whether a tripartite panel was required was a matter within the scope of the unrestricted submission. Board of Education v. Hartford Federation of School Secretaries, supra; Hartford v. IAFF, Local 760, AFL-CIO, CLC, 24 Conn. App. 254, 257-58, 587 A.2d 435 (1991). “Where the parties contractually agree to a procedure and have delineated the authority of the arbitrators, they must adhere to, and are bound by, the limits which they have set.” Trumbull v. Trumbull Police Local 1745, 1 Conn. App. 207,
The district next claims that the arbitrator’s award did not conform to the submission because it did not agree to submit to the arbitrator the issue of whether the grievance should be decided by a single arbitrator or a tripartite panel. We disagree.
When the parties have contractually agreed to resolve their disputes by arbitration, “the arbitration clause in the contract is a written submission to arbitration.” Vail v. American Way Homes, Inc., 181 Conn. 449, 451, 435 A.2d 993 (1980); Morganti, Inc. v. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 20 Conn. App. 67, 74, 563 A.2d 1055 (1989). A challenge to the authority of the arbitrator is limited to a comparison of the award to the submission. Daley v. Hartford, 215
Finally, the district advances a two-pronged attack on the trial court’s finding that the submission was made pursuant to both the collective bargaining and 13 (c) agreements. The district first claims the arbitrator exceeded his authority by construing the 13 (c) agreement after finding that there had been no violation of the collective bargaining agreement. Second, even if application of the 13 (c) agreement was proper, it was incorrectly interpreted. Again, we disagree.
The judgment is affirmed.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
Article 20 § A of the parties’ collective bargaining agreement provides in pertinent part: “The decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding upon the parties. . . . The Arbitrator’s authority shall be limited to interpreting and applying the provisions of this Agreement and shall have no power to add, subtract or modify any of the provisions of this Agreement.”
Section 11 of the 13 (c) agreement provides in pertinent part: “In the event of any labor dispute involving [the District] ... or the employees covered by this agreement . . . such dispute may be submitted at the written request of either the Union ... or the [District] to a board of arbitration selected in accordance with the existing collective bargaining agreement . . . .”
At the October 25,1990 session, the arbitrator asked the district’s counsel, “[D]o you feel that you would be prejudiced if we proceed under the