Breach of Contract Cases

The plaintiffs, a medical group, together with former physician shareholders of the medical group, sought to vacate an arbitration award in favor of the defendant, who filed an application to confirm the award, which was issued in connection with the plaintiffs' alleged breach of a shareholder employment agreement. The arbitrator denied and dismissed the defen- dant's claims against the physician shareholders but issued an award on his claim against the medical group. In their application to vacate the award, the plaintiffs claimed that the award was not mutual, final and definite because the arbitrator had failed to allocate arbitration costs, expenses and compensation and set forth a reasoned award with respect to the issue of attorney's fees, having failed to award attorney's fees to the physician shareholders. The trial court denied the plaintiffs' application to vacate the award, granted the defendant's application to confirm the award and rendered judgments thereon, from which the plaintiffs appealed to this court. Held that the trial court properly granted the defendant's motion to confirm the arbitration award: the plaintiffs failed to sustain the heavy burden necessary to vacate an arbitration award pursuant to statute (§ 52-418) as they failed to present a reasoned legal argument for why the award should be vacated on the ground that the arbitrator failed to allocate arbitration costs, expenses and compensation, the arbitrator's award of attorney's fees was reasoned and the arbitrator's failure to explain his decision denying attorney's fees for the physician shareholders did not constitute grounds to vacate the award. Argued February 11—officially released July 21, 2020