Treverton v. Arnold

Plaintiffs civil action against defendant was referred to arbitration pursuant to ORS 36.400 et seq. The arbitrator held defendant in default as a sanction for a discovery violation and awarded damages and attorney fees to plaintiff on the merits of the dispute. Defendant appealed to circuit court for a de novo jury trial pursuant to ORS 36.425(2)(a). Plaintiff moved to dismiss the appeal on the ground that defendant’s default in the arbitration proceeding foreclosed him from pursuing the appeal to circuit court. The trial court denied the motion. The jury awarded plaintiff a lesser amount of…