Take Me Out to the Courthouse · The Reserve Clause
The Letter Nobody Believed
Major League Baseball Players Ass'n v. Garvey (2001)
Charge: Bid to vacate an arbitrator's denial of a collusion damages claim (challenge to the union-administered arbitration award)Court: Supreme Court of the United StatesDocket: The Reserve Clause
Can a court overturn an arbitrator's factual findings because it thinks he got the evidence wrong?
The facts
A retired first baseman claimed his club had dropped plans to extend his contract because owners were secretly colluding against free agents. To prove it, he produced a later letter from the club's former president confirming an extension offer that was pulled because of collusion. The arbitrator rejected the claim, doubting the letter because the same executive had earlier testified there was no collusion. A federal appeals court called the award irrational and ordered judgment for the player. The case went to the Supreme Court.
You have the facts the court had. Guilty or not guilty? Call it in the game with your friends, then see what the court actually decided. Wrong call, you drink.
Citation: Major League Baseball Players Ass'n v. Garvey, 532 U.S. 504 (2001)
Read more at supreme.justia.com. The source reveals the outcome.