Did you hear the one about the arbitration award that almost got overturned because the arbitrator made a joke?
In Meyer v. Kalanick and Uber Technologies, No. 15 Civ. 9796 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 3, 2020), the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York tackled the question of whether an arbitrator had manifested “evident partiality” toward the prevailing party such that the arbitration award should be vacated. The court determined that a comment by the arbitrator that the plaintiff alleged was biased was nothing more than an attempt at humor.