Does accepting an arbitration award waive that party's right to appeal the award?

^7. Trollope v. Jeffries, supra, 55 Cal.App.3d 816 did not involve a question of res judicata, but whether accepting the benefits of an arbitration award waived that party's right to appeal the award, as is the general rule with a civil judgment. The appellate court held it did and dismissed the appeal. (Id. at p. 824 ["we conclude that the principles governing acceptance of the benefits of a judgment, order or decree apply with equal force to an arbitration award"].)

^8. The issue in Lehto v. Underground Constr. Co., supra, 69 Cal.App.3d 933 was whether an individual could maintain a separate superior court action against his former employers and his union raising claims related to the issues in an arbitration in which he asserted the union had breached its duty of fair representation. The employers argued the sole remedy was a petition to vacate or correct the arbitration award. The court of appeal disagreed, concluding the employee's substantive rights under federal labor law precluded application of the usual principles governing arbitrations. (Id. at pp. 936-937.)