In affirming confirmation of an arbitration award, an appellate court in Illinois held that the aggrieved party waived his right to a written opinion by not requesting one in accordance with the applicable rules of arbitration.

In Anderson v. Golf Mill Ford, Inc., No. 1-07-2349, 2008 WL 2444686 (Ill. App. Ct. June 16, 2008), Anderson sued Golf Mill Ford (Golf Mill), alleging that Golf Mill violated various consumer protection laws by changing the terms of financing on Anderson's purchase of an SUV. After some procedural maneuvering, the parties submitted the dispute to arbitration in accordance with the sales contract.

The arbitrator awarded damages to Anderson on his consumer protection claims, but also awarded damages to Golf Mill on its counterclaim for the unpaid balance on the contract. Anderson filed a motion to vacate the award. The trial court denied the motion and confirmed the award.

On appeal, Anderson argued that the trial court should have vacated the award because the arbitrator did not issue a supporting opinion even though the arbitration agreement required one. The Court rejected this argument, finding that Anderson waived his right to a written opinion by not requesting one pursuant to the governing rules of arbitration – specifically, Rule 42 of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) Commercial Arbitration Rules, which provides that either party may request a "reasoned award."

Anderson also argued that he was entitled to discovery on the issue of AAA bias. In rejecting this argument, the Court explained that Anderson had failed to demonstrate any bias on the part of the individual arbitrator or any other impropriety, as would be necessary to allow discovery by a party seeking to overturn an arbitration award. The Court thus affirmed the order confirming the award.