Facts

Defendant Eric Whitehead left plaintiff Raymond F. Bourhis Inc.'s law firm, taking its client, Dr. Natalia Carey. Whitehead settled Dr. Carey's claim with her insurance carrier three months after his departure from the firm. Bourhis, having performed contingency fee work in the Carey case for approximately three years sought quantum meruit from Whitehead and damages for fraud and ethics violations. Whitehead counterclaimed with an unpaid wages claim against the firm. The parties engaged in a voluntary arbitration with JAMS.
The arbitrator ruled in Whitehead's favor, awarding 100 percent of the attorney fees generated by the Carey settlement to Whitehead and an additional $491,706 in damages for his unpaid wages claim. Whitehead sought confirmation of the arbitration award in superior court. Bourhis sought vacatur on the basis of evident partiality, fraud, misrepresentation and that the parties never agreed to submit an unpaid wages claim to arbitration.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Bourhis contended that JAMS ignored the written employment policy signed and acknowledged by Whitehead, disregarded the compensation formula in place for the duration of his three year employment, expanded the scope of a one-day arbitration quantum meruit fee determination into an assessment over issues to which there was no notice or testimony and no witnesses; breached its contractual commitments; failed to disclose the ownership interest in JAMS by the arbitrator; accepted secret payments from defendant's counsel on three future arbitrations while the arbitration was in progress; and violated CCP 1281.9(a), 1281.91(d) 170.1(a)(6)(A)(iii).

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Whitehead denied the contentions.

Result

The court entered judgment in favor of Whitehead and confirmed the $891,706 arbitration award.