[Home Insulation] Jae and Lydia Ran a Home Insulation Company

question 55

Multiple Choice

[Home insulation] Jae and Lydia ran a home insulation company for several years. They, however, encountered a dispute regarding the allocation of profit and agreed to discontinue their business. They could not agree on a number of issues involving not only profits, but also winding up the business, disposing of equipment, and other matters. They agreed to hire an arbitrator to settle their disputes. Jae suggested that they use a local lawyer named Alan to arbitrate the matter, and Lydia agreed. Lydia had some medical problems and requested that the arbitration be postponed for a short time. Jae objected to her request. Alan would not agree to Lydia's request for a postponement, stating that any arbitration proceeding must be heard within 30 days and that the time period was nearly over. Alan conducted the arbitration hearing. He refused to hear any evidence from any witnesses, explaining that he only had the authority to hear testimony from Jae and Lydia. Therefore, Lydia was not able to present testimony of a property appraiser she had hired. Alan proceeded to rule in favor of Jae on all counts. Lydia was very discouraged and discussed the situation with her friend Mia. Mia said "My goodness! Didn't you know that Alan and Jae play golf together every week, that Jae is married to Alan's cousin, and that Jae has loaned money to Alan in the past?" Lydia immediately called Alan and asked him about his connection with Jae. Alan acknowledged those connections. He told Mia, however, that he was perfectly fair and that there was nothing she could do. The Federal Arbitration Act applies.
-Regarding Alan's refusal to hear testimony other than that presented by Jae and Lydia, which of the following is true?

• A) Alan was wrong. He had a duty to consider other relevant testimony as well.
• B) Alan was correct.
• C) Alan was correct, but only because the dispute involved the discontinuance of a business.
• D) Alan had a duty to consider other testimony, but only up to two other witnesses per side.
• E) Alan had a duty to consider other testimony, but only up to three other witnesses per side.

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Definitions:

Master Budget

A document that integrates all the estimates from the different departments to establish guidelines and benchmarks for the whole organization.

Favorable Variance

A financial term indicating that actual spending was less than budgeted amounts, or revenue was higher than expected.

Fixed Overhead

Refers to the regular, static expenses of operating a business that are not affected by changes in production volume or sales.