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Noting that "[a]rbitration is intended to avoid litigation," a New Jersey state court held that a party to arbitration is not entitled to a trial court hearing to determine whether an arbitrator's evidentiary rulings are correct.
In Riccio v. Riccio, No. FM-11-722-04B, 2007 WL 581695 (N.J. Super. A.D. Feb. 27, 2007), the parties submitted to binding arbitration to resolve financial issues relating to their marriage dissolution. After the arbitrator issued an award, Regina Riccio argued that the award should be vacated because the arbitrator failed to consider evidence that she deemed material to the dispute.
However, the Court disagreed and confirmed the arbitrator's award. First, the Court noted that the evidence offered by Regina "was not so critical that the arbitrator's refusal to consider it would have substantially prejudiced her right to present her case." Second, the Court held that an arbitrator's refusal to consider evidence does not entitled a party to a hearing on the correctness of the arbitrator's evidentiary rulings.
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