Board of Ed. of City of Waterbury v. Waterbury Teachers' Ass'n

• Decision Date: 27 December 1977
• Court: Connecticut Supreme Court
• Parties: , 97 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2401 BOARD OF EDUCATION OF the CITY OF WATERBURY v. WATERBURY TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION.

Page 350

384 A.2d 350

174 Conn. 123, 97 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2401

BOARD OF EDUCATION OF the CITY OF WATERBURY v. WATERBURY TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION.

Supreme Court of Connecticut.

Argued Oct. 13, 1977.

Decided Dec. 27, 1977.

Kevin T. Nixon, Naugatuck, with whom was Martin A. Gould, Hartford, for appellant (defendant).

John F. Phelan, Waterbury, with whom was William J. Sullivan, Waterbury, for appellee (plaintiff).

Before HOUSE, C. J., and LOISELLE, BOGDANSKI, LONGO and SPEZIALE, JJ.

BOGDANSKI, Associate Justice.

On January 28, 1974, the Waterbury Teachers' Association filed a grievance against the Waterbury Board of Education. From a denial of that grievance, the parties took the matter to arbitration in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement existing between them.

For the arbitration, the parties agreed on the following submission. (1) Statement of Grievance: The board violated certain provisions of the agreement including article XX, § 11, which provides for a daily service for the distribution, pickup and delivery of all interschool material and other mail from the boxes at the central office. (2) Action Requested: Damages to the association in the amount of $10,000 for the board's failure to maintain the contract and for causing the association to expend monies and time unnecessarily to force the board to live up to its commitments.

On October 31, 1974, the arbitrator found that the board had failed to comply with the provisions of the agreement as enumerated in the submission and directed the board "to take whatever steps are necessary to come into compliance forthwith with . . . the aforementioned provisions with respect to which it may be still in violation." The board was "further directed to review with and pay to the Association, on behalf of and for the account of those of its members who have sustained any monetary loss by reason of the aforesaid breaches of the agreement, the amounts of such losses." (Emphasis added.) The arbitrator, however, retained jurisdiction and "in the event the parties are unable to reach agreement on the amount of damages payable under the terms of this award the matter may be referred to him for final disposition."

On December 10, 1974, the association applied to the Superior Court in Waterbury to confirm the above award. On December 19, 1974, the application to confirm the award was granted by stipulation of the parties. Thereafter, the parties attempted to agree on the amount of damages without success. Pursuant to the October 31, 1974 award, additional arbitration sessions with the parties participating were conducted by the arbitrator on January 24 and March 31, 1975.

On July 1, 1975, the arbitrator issued the following award: "The Board is directed to pay the sum of $9838.37 to the Association, on behalf of and for the account of the administrators who sustained damages by reason of the Board's failure to comply with Article XX, Section 11, for the period between January 1, 1974, and February 24, 1975." Thereafter, the board moved to vacate the award claiming that the arbitrator exceeded his powers or so imperfectly executed them that a mutual, final and definite award was not made. The association, in turn, applied to the court for confirmation of the award of July 1, 1975.

After a hearing, the trial court ordered the award vacated for the following reasons: The arbitrator (1) did not follow the submission, (2) did not apply the legal rule of damages, (3) did not properly apply his own legal principles, and (4) did not pay heed to the agreement. From the judgment rendered, the association appealed to this court assigning error in the court's conclusions and in the overruling of its claims of law. The association contends that the award was in conformity with the submission and that the arbitrator need not decide this matter pursuant to law.

It should be noted at the outset that the record on appeal consists of the following: (1) application to vacate award; (2) award of the arbitrator dated October 1, 1974; (3) award of the arbitrator dated July 1, 1975; (4) supplemental opinion; (5) motion to confirm arbitrator's award; and (6) memorandum of decision. In the context of the claims raised, where no evidence was heard by the court, the existing record provides an adequate basis for review. ¹ Meyers v. Lakeridge Development Co., 173 Conn. 133, 134, 376 A.2d 1105; Winchester Repeating Arms Co. v. Radcliffe, 134 Conn. 164, 169, 56 A.2d 1.

"Courts favor arbitration as a means of settling differences and arbitration awards are generally upheld except where an award clearly falls within the proscriptions of § 52-418 ² of the General Statutes. International Union v. Fafnir Bearing Co., 151 Conn. 650, 653, 201 A.2d 656; United Electrical Radio & Machine Workers v. Union Mfg. Co., 145 Conn. 285, 288, 141 A.2d 479." Board of Education v. Bridgeport Education Assn., 173 Conn. 287, 290, 377 A.2d 323, 325.

Arbitration is a creature of contract and the parties themselves, by the agreement of submission, define the powers of the arbitrator. Connecticut Union of Telephone Workers, Inc. v. Southern New England Telephone Co., 148 Conn. 192, 197, 169 A.2d 646; Niles-Bement-Pond Co. v. Amalgamated Local 405, 140 Conn. 32, 36, 97 A.2d 898. As the parties set the limits on the arbitrator's powers, they are bound by the limits they have fixed. Connecticut Union of Telephone Workers, Inc. v. Southern New England Telephone Co., supra. Thus, in deciding whether arbitrators have " exceeded their powers," as that phrase is used in § 52-418(d), courts need only examine the...