Burlington Northern Railroad Company and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company, Petitioners v. Tuco Inc…

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court held that a neutral arbitrator must disclose any relationship that could create a reasonable impression of partiality; failure to do so establishes evident partiality as a matter of law. Applying that rule, the Court found the neutral arbitrator’s nondisclosure of a referral during the arbitration created evident partiality, vacated the award and remanded for further arbitration. Justice ENOCH dissented, arguing that the nondisclosure does not meet the statutory requirement and that the word “evident” should not be stripped.