MSO, LLC v. THE ESTATE OF CHARLES DESIMONE et al., SC 18979

Judicial District of New Haven

 Arbitration; Adequacy of the Appellate Record; Whether Appellate Court Correctly Determined that the Trial Court Undertook the Proper Analysis of the Law and the Facts When it Directed the Parties to Proceed to Arbitration.  The plaintiff had leased a commercial space from the defendants and brought this action seeking to recover damages for breach of the lease agreement.  The defendants counterclaimed and moved for an order staying the proceedings and directing the parties to proceed to arbitration pursuant to an arbitration clause contained in the lease.  The trial court granted the defendants' motion and the arbitrators found in favor of the defendants in the ensuing arbitration.  The trial court denied the plaintiff's motion to vacate the arbitration award and granted the defendants' motion to confirm the award, noting that the plaintiff provided no substantive support for its claim that the arbitrators exceed their powers or executed them imperfectly.  The plaintiff appealed, claiming that the trial court improperly ordered the parties to proceed to arbitration because it failed to find that the defendants waived their right to enforce the arbitration clause by engaging in extensive litigation prior to seeking enforcement of the clause.  The Appellate Court (134 Conn. App. 821) affirmed the judgment, finding that the plaintiff failed to provide it with an adequate record for review of its appellate claim.  It observed that the trial court had made no finding as to waiver when it ordered the parties to proceed to arbitration, and that the plaintiff never sought such a finding by filing a motion for articulation of that order.  The Appellate Court noted that it is the responsibility of the appellant to provide an adequate record for review and held that, absent an adequate record here, it was bound to presume that the trial court acted properly.  The Supreme Court will now consider whether the Appellate Court correctly determined that the trial court undertook the proper analysis of the law and facts when it directed the parties to proceed to arbitration.