Nakia lives in just outside of Wichita, Kansas. She is employed as a Nurse at Stockmire Hospital. Nakia believes that Stockmire owes her $45,000 in overtime pay. The hospital does not believe she is entitled to the money. The employment contract between Nakia and Stockmire stipulates that all disputes will be handled through arbitration.
In June, Wesley is appointed as arbitrator for the case. He holds an initial hearing in July, where he makes some preliminary rulings. He also schedules a follow-up conference to “consider whether further discovery or preliminary matters need to be undertaken.” Stockmire does not respond with any additional information. On August 1, Nakia’s lawyer has a phone call with Wesley. On August 8, Wesley states that the case will be open for an additional 30 days for parties to submit additional information. Neither party submits information. On August 31, Wesley decides that Stockmire owes Nakia the full $45,000.
Stockmire’s lawyer is very upset with this decision, and shouts that “Kansas doesn’t even allow this kind of thing to be arbitrated anyway!” Moreover, he believes it was “incredibly unfair for the arbitrator to have that phone call with Nakia’s lawyers.” Subsequently, Stockmire files a motion to vacate the arbitrator’s ruling.
Please research Kansas law regarding arbitration, and whether arbitration is favored in this context. Additionally, please discuss whether the arbitrator’s decision should be upheld. Please use IRAC format to answer the question and be sure to properly cite your research.
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