Defendant Failed to Establish Partiality, Federal Judge Rules

CLEVELAND - An Ohio federal judge has refused to vacate an arbitration award for evident partiality, ruling that the defendant failed to show that the arbitrator gave preferential treatment to the plaintiffs by allowing them a second opportunity to produce evidence. Grego, et al. v. Nexagen USA LLC, No. 5:10-2691 (N.D. Ohio).

On July 15, Judge Sara Lioi of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio denied Nexagen USA LLC's motion to vacate or modify the award and granted plaintiffs' motion to confirm.

Hugues Grego and Suzy Sereme entered into a distributorship agreement with Nexagen. They later …