The King vs. Medieval Knights . . .
Plaintiff Scott Ehredt, a performer in medieval style games at Medieval Knights, sued claiming that Medieval Knights had misappropriated his likeness in advertising images, notwithstanding a release that he had provided. The matter was arbitrated, and after receiving an adverse award, Mr. Ehredt appealed. Ehredt v. Medieval Knights, LLC, et al., B275833 (2/8 5/15/17) (Grimes, Rubin, Flier) (unpublished).
The Court of Appeal rejected Mr. Ehredt's argument that the arbitrator exceeded his powers and acted in violation of public policy by validating the employer's actions requiring him, as a condition of employment, to sign a release. Nor did the Court of Appeal accept an argument that the parties had contracted to judicial review of the merits of the award by agreeing that the award could be vacated if "the arbitrator acted in manifest disregard of the law or otherwise exceeded the arbitrator's powers . . . " The "manifest disregard standard" is a federal standard that is narrowly construed. The general rule, of course, is that the court does not vacate an award for a mistake of law or fact.
COMMENT: The arbitrator awarded defendants attorney fees in the amount of $280,000 and costs in the amount of $8,650.26. Though one of the arguments in favor of arbitration is its economy and efficiency, even a three-day arbitration can prove to be very expensive, given the amount of work leading up to the hearing. This debacle brought to mind the Black Knight of Monty Python fame. Hence, the video link above.
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