Grain v. Trinity Health

Grain v. Trinity Health

Opinion

 [*376]  SUTTON, Circuit Judge. Peter Grain and Annette Barnes challenge the district court's denial of their motion to confirm in part and modify in part a $ 1.6 million arbitration award. We affirm.

Grain and Barnes, husband and wife, are medical doctors who once worked for Mercy Hospital. In 2003, they sued Mercy and the related defendants for taking a variety of "punitive actions" that allegedly interfered with their medical practices. JA 41. Grain complained that the defendants had violated 42 U.S.C. § 1981 by discriminating on the basis of race in contracting and by violating several state laws, while Barnes sought only state-law relief. After the defendants moved  [**2] to compel arbitration, the district court dismissed the state-law claims that were subject to a pre-existing arbitration agreement and stayed the remaining claims pending arbitration.

Grain and Barnes prevailed in the arbitration proceeding and won $ 1,641,870.44. They then filed a motion in the district court, asking the court to confirm the merits of the arbitration decision and to increase the size of the award. The district court confirmed the award but refused to increase it. Grain v. Trinity Health (Grain I), No. 03-72486, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10930, 2008 WL 441060, at *3 (E.D. Mich. Feb. 14, 2008). After a failed motion to reconsider, see Grain v. Trinity Health (Grain II), No. 03-72486,  [*377]  2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31977, 2008 WL 1742718, at *3 (E.D. Mich. April 11, 2008), Grain and Barnes appealed.

The parties agree that we have jurisdiction over this appeal. But because the parties to a lawsuit cannot by consent create appellate jurisdiction that does not otherwise exist, we must determine for ourselves whether we have authority to resolve this appeal. Arbaugh v. Y&H Corp., 546 U.S. 500, 514, 126 S. Ct. 1235, 163 L. Ed. 2d 1097 (2006).

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