Municipal Workers Compensation Fund, Inc. v. Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc., and Morgan Asset Management, Inc.

Summary

The court reversed the denial of the Fund’s motion to vacate an arbitration judgment because a securities-industry arbitrator failed to investigate and disclose substantial business relationships involving his employer, the opposing party, and its counsel. Applying the reasonable-impression-of-partiality standard, the court held that the arbitrator had constructive knowledge of the conflict and that the nondisclosure established evident partiality warranting vacatur. The court also resolved several evidentiary issues concerning authentication, judicial notice, and hearsay. Justice Murdock, concurring specially, agreed that no cross-appeal was needed to assert an alternative affirmance ground but emphasized that an appellate court may affirm on such a ground only if it is legally valid and raises no due-process concerns.