California Supreme Court Expands Arbitration Review
On August 25, 2008, the California Supreme Court, in a 5-2 decision, expanded courts' powers to review arbitration decisions under California law for legal errors in cases where parties have contractually agreed to judicial oversight in advance. This is a significant change in California law, and at odds with a recent United States Supreme Court decision earlier this year holding that the Federal Arbitration Act does not permit parties to expand the scope of judicial review of arbitration decisions by agreement.