Ciampa v. Chubb Group of Insurance Companies

Accepting as generally valid the functus officio principle relied on by the defendant (Chubb) — i.e., the principle that an arbitrator is without power to modify his final award except where the controlling statute or the parties authorize modification, see La Vale Plaza, Inc. v. R.S. Noonan, Inc., 378 F.2d 569, 572 (3d Cir. 1967) — we nevertheless hold that the modification effected by the arbitrator in this case fell within the statutory authorization. The original award, issued on October 21, 1986, stated that “[t]he present value of the amount of $138,750.00 [the loss of earnings found by…