Progressive Plumbing Inc. v. ABCO Builders Inc.

Progressive Plumbing Inc. Progressive appeals from a superior court order vacating an arbitration panel’s award in its favor in the amount of $60,249.67. Because the trial court erred in vacating the award, we reverse. The record reveals that Progressive entered into a subcontract with ABCO Builders, Inc. ABCO which provided that Progressive would provide plumbing for a construction project. Disputes arose between the parties, and pursuant to a clause in the subcontract, those disputes were heard by an arbitration panel. Following a hearing,1 the arbitrators awarded Progressive $144,321 for its unpaid contract balance, and $134,193 for delays, disruptions, and impacts caused by ABCO. These amounts were offset by an award of $218,264.33 in favor of ABCO for Progressive’s defective and deficient work, leaving Progressive with a final award of $60,249.67.

Progressive moved to confirm the award, while ABCO counterclaimed to vacate the award on the ground that the arbitrators “manifestly disregarded the law.” Following a hearing, the superior court vacated the arbitrator’s award on the ground that the arbitrators manifestly disregarded the law applicable to Progressive’s claims for “unabsorbed home office overhead” and “lost labor productivity and inefficiency.” The court also found that because the arbitrators awarded substantially less than Progressive requested for these claims, the panel speculated as the amount of damages and the cause of such damages.