Witz v. Tregallas

Citations

• 82 Md. 351
• 33 A. 718
• 1896 Md. LEXIS 13

Syllabus

<p>Arbitration and Award — Jurisdiction of Equity to Enforce Award— Withdrawal of Arbitrator — Certainty and Finality of Award — Mistake of Arbitrators — Matters Stibmitted.</p> <p>Equity has jurisdiction to enforce the distribution of a fund according to the terms of a valid award made by arbitrators selected by the parties in interest.</p> <p>An agreement for the submission of a controversy to arbitration, provided that the arbitrators should write their names on the agreement as evidence of acceptance. One of the arbitrators who accepted the appointment and acted as such neglected to sign the submission. Held, that the award’was not for that reason void.</p> <p>After two of the three arbitrators had agreed upon the award, the third arbitrator refused to unite in their decision, and said that he would withdraw, and did withdraw. The majority then wrote and signed the award and submitted the same to the third arbitrator, who refused to sign it. The submission provided that “the majority decision shall be the unanimous decision.” Held, that since two arbitrators had power to make the award if the third could not agree, no one of them could defeat it by withdrawal, and that the award made as above stated was valid.</p> <p>Before the two arbitrators named in the submission had selected a third, in consequence of their disagreement, counsel for one of the parties appeared before the two arbitrators in the absence of counsel for the other parties. There was nothing to show that any injury was thereby caused. Held> that the award afterwards made was not invalidated.</p> <p>After the dissolution of a partnership, the affairs of the concern were wound up by certain liquidating partners, and disputes having arisen, all parties agreed to submit their “partnership differences ” to arbitration, without stating what those differences were. The questions decided by the arbitrators were those argued before them by the parties. One of them was as to the liability of the liquidatin