Vermont Mutual Insurance Company v. New England Property Services Group, LLC

Syllabus

The plaintiff, Vermont Mutual Insurance Company (Vermont Mutual), appealed from a July 27, 2023 Superior Court order denying its petition to vacate an appraisal award and granting the cross-petition of the defendant, New England Property Services Group, LLC (NEPSG). Vermont Mutual contended on appeal that the hearing justice erred in failing to vacate the award because, in Vermont Mutual's view, there was evident partiality on the part of NEPSG's appraiser. The Supreme Court held that the hearing justice failed to apply the proper criteria in ruling on Vermont Mutual's petition and NEPSG's cross-petition. The Court further held that the appraisal award at issue should have been vacated due to the existence of evident partiality on behalf of the defendant's appraiser. Accordingly, the Court vacated the order of the Superior Court and remanded the case to the Superior Court for further proceedings.