Chapter 17 - § 17.6 • PROCEDURE AFTER VACATION OF AN AWARD

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 17.6 • PROCEDURE AFTER VACATION OF AN AWARD

§ 17.6.1—CRUAA

C.R.S. § 13-22-225, Judgment on Award — Attorney Fees and Litigation Expenses

(1) Upon granting an order confirming, vacating without directing a rehearing, modifying, or correcting an award, the court shall enter a judgment in conformity therewith. The judgment may be recorded, docketed, and enforced as any other judgment in a civil action.
(2) A court may award the reasonable costs of the motion and subsequent judicial proceedings.
(3) On application of a prevailing party to a contested judicial proceeding under section 13-22-222, 13-22-223, or 13-22-224, the court may add reasonable attorney fees and other reasonable expenses of litigation incurred in a judicial proceeding after the award is made to a judgment confirming, vacating without directing a rehearing, modifying, or correcting an award.

If the court finds that a portion of the award was procured by corruption and fraud, and if the court cannot segregate the tainted portion of the award, the entire award must be vacated and the case remanded for a rehearing before a new arbitrator.³¹¹

The CRUAA specifically defines post-vacation procedures. C.R.S. § 13-22-223(3) provides:

(3) If the court vacates an award on a ground other than that set forth in paragraph (e) of subsection (1) [no agreement to arbitrate] of this section, it may order a rehearing. If the award is vacated on a ground stated in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1) of this section [procured by corruption, fraud, or other undue means; or evident partiality, corruption, or misconduct of an arbitrator], the rehearing shall be before a new arbitrator. If the award is vacated on a ground stated in paragraph (c), (d), or (f) of subsection (1) of this section [refusal to postpone hearing, refusal to consider material evidence, hearing conducted contrary to section 215], the rehearing may be held before the arbitrator who made the award or the arbitrator's successor. The arbitrator must render the decision in the rehearing within the same time as that provided in section 13-22-219(2) for an award.

Where the Colorado Court of Appeals vacated a part of the award as being in excess of the arbitrator's powers (C.R.S. § 13-22-214(1)(a)(III) (2003)) by failing to award attorney fees to the prevailing party as required by the parties' arbitration agreement, the court remanded "the case to the district court for the entry of an order returning the case to the arbitrator to determine...