Cohen & Wolf, P.C. v. Netter

Syllabus

The defendant appealed from the trial court's judgment granting the plain- tiff's application to confirm a certain arbitration award and denying the defendant's application to vacate the award. The court had denied the plain- tiff's application to confirm a previous arbitration award in this dispute regarding unpaid legal fees. The defendant claimed, inter alia, that the court improperly affirmed the second arbitration award in its entirety because the present proceeding was barred by the first arbitration proceeding on the grounds of res judicata and collateral estoppel. Held: This court declined to review the defendant's claim that the trial court improperly confirmed the second arbitration award in its entirety because the second arbitration was barred by the first arbitration under the doctrines of collateral estoppel and res judicata, as the defendant failed to preserve this claim in the trial court and the doctrines of collateral estoppel and res judicata do not implicate subject matter jurisdiction. The trial court properly confirmed, as part of the second arbitration award, an award of the plaintiff's attorney's fees for the first arbitration, as the scope of the arbitration submission was unrestricted, the court's review of the arbitration award was limited by the statute (§ 52-418) governing applications to vacate arbitration awards, and the defendant failed to assert a recognized ground upon which to vacate the second arbitration award. Argued September 11—officially released December 16, 2025