Affirming a trial court ruling confirming an arbitration award in an employment discrimination suit, a Michigan appellate court held that an arbitrator fulfilled all legal and contractual requirements when he ruled that a business had unlawfully discriminated against a female employee.

In Toll Bros., Inc. v. Fekete, No. 274964, 2008 WL 466596 (Mich. Ct. App. Feb. 21, 2008), Fekete submitted an employment discrimination claim to arbitration against Toll Bros. The arbitrator ruled in Fekete's favor.

Toll Bros. moved to vacate the award, arguing the arbitrator both failed to provide written conclusions of law and exceeded his authority by ignoring controlling principles of law. Fekete moved to confirm. The trial court confirmed the award and Toll Bros. appealed.

The Court held that the arbitrator did not improperly exceed his authority by ruling on Fekete's behalf. Under Michigan law, "arbitrators exceed their powers whenever they act beyond the material terms of the contract from which they primarily draw their authority, or in contravention of controlling principles of law." A court's authority to review an award is limited to "a plainly recognizable basis for finding substantial legal error."

Rejecting Toll Bros.' argument that the arbitrator failed to provide written conclusion of law, the Court found the arbitrator satisfied the legal requirements under both Michigan law and the contract that required him to issue a written award. In his eight-page opinion, the arbitrator delineated his factual findings and legal conclusions, as the law required. The arbitrator's opinion expressly mentioned that Fekete produced evidence showing she could recover under the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Michigan's Civil Rights Act. Finally, the Court noted that a court may not review an arbitrator's factual findings because of the difficulty of ascertaining the rationale behind an arbitrator's conclusions.