Chapter 3 - § 3.8 • OTHER COLORADO STATUTES COMPELLING, LIMITING, AND REGULATING THE ARBITRATION PROCESS

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 3.8 • OTHER COLORADO STATUTES COMPELLING, LIMITING, AND REGULATING THE ARBITRATION PROCESS

Federal law governs the determination of whether the dispute resolution procedure is "arbitration" for purposes of applicability of the FAA, and state law determines whether the dispute resolution procedure is arbitration for purposes of applicability of state arbitration law. For example, in Salt Lake Tribune Publishing Co. v. Management Planning, Inc.,⁵⁶ the Tenth Circuit considered "whether a certain appraisal constituted an arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act. . . ."⁵⁷ Reversing the trial court, the court of appeals held that the appraisal procedure agreed upon by the parties did not constitute an arbitration to which the FAA applied. Therefore, the FAA was not applicable to the issues raised in the appraisal proceeding.

In reaching its conclusion, the court in Salt Lake Tribune Publishing Co. made several important points:

• Federal law supplies the standard by which it is determined whether the procedure is arbitration for purposes of the FAA;
• Federal law provides the definition of arbitration; Congress intended by the passage of the FAA to ensure that state law would not undermine the arbitration agreement, and intended uniformity of application throughout the states;
• State law governs the interpretation of the arbitration agreement; and
• Central to any conception of classic arbitration is that the disputants empowered a third party to render a decision settling their dispute — a definitive settlement.

See also § 2.1.1 and Chapter 7.

In sum, whether a dispute resolution procedure constitutes arbitration, and therefore is subject to state and/or federal arbitration law, might be a matter of critical importance.

In addition to the statutes providing for arbitration of certain disputes discussed in Chapter 2, Colorado statutes have numerous provisions in addition to the arbitration acts regulating and/or providing for arbitration. The following are some of these statutes:

• C.R.S. §§ 6-1-410 and -509, Arbitration under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act;
• C.R.S. § 7-30-108 (see comments), Effect of judgment or order against nonprofit association;
• C.R.S. § 13-20-801, Construction Defect Action Reform Act;
• C.R.S. § 13-21-102(5), Arbitrators prohibited from awarding punitive damages. See discussion in Chapter 16, "The Arbitration Award." But see C.R.S. § 13-64-403 (punitive damages can be awarded in arbitration between health-care provider

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