In a case brought by a former executive of East Orange General Hospital involving an arbitration agreement that only one side signed, a New Jersey appeals court has ruled that a judge shouldn't have rejected a request to arbitrate without holding oral argument or giving a statement of reasons.

A three-judge Appellate Division panel in the whistleblower case said a trial judge erred in denying the defendants' motion to compel arbitration before holding oral argument based solely on the fact that the agreement was missing the employer's signature.

“We agree with defendants that oral argument, or the reason for not affording oral argument, must be provided by the court,” said Appellate Division Judges Ellen Koblitz, Heidi Currier and Jessica Mayer in the unpublished, per curiam decision issued Nov. 21.