Mediation fails, so Arnold, UH will head to arbitration

An impasse has been declared in the mediation of former men’s basketball coach Gib Arnold’s grievance against the University of Hawaii. 

The two parties met once, May 8, before the impasse was signaled by the mediator, an attorney for Arnold said Thursday.

Arbitration has not been scheduled.

In a grievance filed Feb. 3 through the Hawaii Government Employees Association, Arnold has been seeking $1.4 million from UH that he contends is due him for “without cause” dismissal under the terms of his 2011 employment agreement.

William McCorriston, outside counsel for UH, has said, “that’s his interpretation of the contract. We don’t read it that way.”

McCorriston maintains, “… if the  allegations by the NCAA are proven, that would be a breach of contract, which would have to be considered in the parameters of what, if anything, is owed to Coach Arnold.” 

Arnold was fired Oct. 28 amid an NCAA investigation into his program. The NCAA’s January 30 Notice of Allegations cites UH for seven violations of its rules, all rated as Level I or Level II, the most severe of four categories. 

Arnold attorney James Bickerton blamed Manoa Chancellor Robert Bley-Vroman for the standoff and said his client, “does not plan to resume mediation unless and until the UH has an objective representative at the talks.”

In an email Bickerton said, “The case will not settle so long as Chancellor Bley-Vroman is making the decisions about settlement because he is in a conflict of interest.  He made the decision to fire Arnold without cause, and now paying additional money in a mediated settlement would be an admission that he made that original decision carelessly and he can’t make an objective assessment of his own mistakes.”

Bickerton said, “If the UH wants to resolve the matter they need to bring a decision-maker above Bley-Vroman’s level, and someone who is not so personally invested in the firing decision who has to defend it at all costs.”

A UH spokesman said, “we can’t comment on an on-going grievance process.”