Perini Corp. v. Greate Bay Hotel & Casino, Inc.
610 A.2d 364 | Supreme Court of New Jersey | 1992
What This Case Means for Subcontractors
Perini Corporation sued over an arbitration award in a hotel renovation dispute. The New Jersey Supreme Court upheld the arbitrator's decision, ruling that courts cannot overturn arbitration awards just because they disagree with how the arbitrator interpreted the law. The court said arbitration awards can only be vacated for gross, obvious legal errors—not for simple mistakes or different legal opinions. This means subcontractors should expect arbitration decisions to stick, even if they think the law was misapplied.
Key Takeaways
- •Arbitration awards are extremely hard to overturn in court. You need to prove a gross, unmistakable legal error, not just disagreement with the arbitrator's interpretation.
- •Before agreeing to arbitration in your contract, understand that you're giving up most of your right to appeal on legal grounds. Choose arbitrators carefully.
- •If you lose in arbitration, focus your appeal on whether the arbitrator ignored the law entirely—not on whether they interpreted it differently than you would have.
Arbitrators' determination of legal issue should be sustained if reasonably debatable.
Frequently Asked Question
Can I get an arbitration award overturned if I think the arbitrator got the law wrong?
Probably not. Courts will only overturn an arbitration award if the arbitrator made a gross, unmistakable, or obvious legal error—not for simple mistakes or different interpretations of the law. This means arbitration decisions are final in most cases, so choose your arbitrator carefully and present your best case the first time.
Related Cases
Atlantic Marine Constr. Co. v. United States Dist. Court for Western Dist. of Tex.
Forum-selection clauses in federal contracts are enforced through §1404(a) transfer motions, not §1406(a) dismissals, and must be given controlling weight except in exceptional circumstances.
Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission v. IT-Davy
Sovereign immunity bars a contractor's breach-of-contract suit against a state agency absent express legislative consent; neither the agency's conduct, contract terms, nor general statutes waive immunity from suit.
Martin K. Eby Construction Company, Inc. v. Dallas Area Rapid Transit
A contractor must exhaust administrative remedies established by a regional transportation authority before pursuing breach of contract claims in court, even when the authority lacks governmental immunity from suit.
Edwin P. Harrison, and United States of America, Party in Interest v. Westinghouse Savannah River Company
The Fourth Circuit reversed the district court's dismissal, holding that the False Claims Act broadly reaches false statements made to obtain government contract approval, not just false payment claims themselves.
General Services Commission v. Little-Tex Insulation Co.
The State does not waive sovereign immunity from breach-of-contract suits by accepting contract benefits; Chapter 2260's administrative procedure is the exclusive remedy for such claims.
Green International, Inc. v. Solis
No-damages-for-delay clauses in construction contracts need not meet the conspicuousness requirement established in Dresser for exculpatory negligence clauses, and such clauses are enforceable to bar delay damages absent specific exceptions.