Supreme Court of California

In a female patient's suit against her physician for negligence in performing plastic surgery on her lip, court of appeal's affirmance of the superior court's order vacating an arbitration award in favor of the physician on the ground that the neutral arbitrator had failed to disclose a matter "that could cause a person aware of the facts to reasonably to entertain a doubt that the...neutral arbitrator would be able to be impartial," is reversed as the neutral arbitrator, a former judge of the superior court, was not required to disclose to the parties the circumstances that 10 years earlier, he received a public censure based upon his conduct toward and statements to court employees, which together created "an overall courtroom environment where discussion of sex and improper ethnic and racial comments were customary."

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/02/2010
• Published 08/02/2010

Judges

• GEORGE, C. J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Suzanne De Rosa