Utah Supreme Court hears challenge to arbitration award tied to an unsubmitted oral‑agreement claim

The Utah Supreme Court heard oral arguments on whether a JAMS arbitrator exceeded her authority by awarding Ridgeview Capital damages for breach of a 2014 oral agreement that appellant counsel said was never submitted as a claim against his client.

"The arbitrator in this case made an award on a claim that was never submitted," appellant counsel Christopher Bates said during argument, urging the court to reverse the district court’s confirmation of the award or to partially vacate it by excising relief tied to the unsubmitted claim.

Bates told the court the arbitrator listed the parties’ claims in detail but did not show any claim against his client for breach of the alleged 2014 oral agreement. He said Ridgeview repeatedly denied the existence of a 2014 agreement in the arbitration and in post‑hearing filings, and that his client had no notice they faced liability under that theory and therefore…