An Iowa appellate court affirmed a lower court's decision to vacate an arbitration award because the appellant failed to fulfill its duty to provide a record on appeal showing the alleged error in the rulings.

In FIA Card Services, N.A. v. Richards, No. 07-1513, 2008 WL 2200101 (Iowa Ct. App. May 29, 2008), an arbitrator entered an award against Richards and in favor of FIA. FIA filed an application in district court to confirm the arbitration award.

In response, Richards filed a motion to vacate, modify or correct the award. Richards argued that he was not properly served and therefore was without the opportunity to participate. Further, Richards argued that the arbitrator entered an award without Richards's participation or a participatory hearing.

The district court granted Richards's motion because it concluded that Richards was denied active participation in the arbitration process. On appeal, FIA argued that Richards did not adequately prove any of the necessary grounds for vacatur. FIA argued that instead, Richards set forth a facially valid ground for vacating the arbitration award, but did not present any evidence to support his allegations.

The Court noted that neither party filed an affidavit or statement of facts to support their position regarding the motion to vacate. There were no records or transcripts of the hearing that took place regarding the motion. Further, no statement of evidence or proceedings was submitted to the Court.

Thus, there was nothing for the Court to review on the appellate level to determine whether the district court's decision was supported by substantial evidence. The Court stated that an appellant has the duty to provide a record on appeal showing the alleged error in the district court's ruling.

Without the benefit of a full record, a court cannot exercise appellate review. Therefore, due to the lack of a proper record, the Court affirmed the decision of the district court.