Erie Insurance says a former Luzerne County judge, who pleaded guilty to a fraud charge last month, “hopelessly corrupted” an arbitration case that led to the insurer paying a $1.2 million award.

Attorneys for the insurer say the award should be stricken following the admission last month in court that former judge Michael T. Toole influenced the outcome of the case to gain access to a New Jersey beach house, according to the Standard Speaker (Hazelton, Pa.).

In December 2009, Toole pleaded guilty to a fraud charge linked to an arrangement with Harry V. Cardoni, the attorney for the plaintiff in the arbitration case, and a tax charge for failing to pay taxes on $30,000 he received from another attorney, according to the report.

Citing court papers, Erie Insurance alleges the award developed out of “corruption, fraud and misconduct,” as the judge appointed a neutral arbitrator picked by Cardoni and “hopelessly corrupted this arbitration and deprived Erie of due process.”

Wilkes-Barre, Pa.-based attorney Bruce Phillips served as arbitrator in the case, telling the Standard Speaker he remembered the case, but never discussed the arbitration with Cardoni outside the hearing or with Toole.

Erie Insurance’s attorney’s called Phillips the “swing vote” in the matter, which involved a policyholder suffering soft tissue injuries that required neither hospitalization or surgery.

“It is axiomatic that if corruption or misconduct guides the selection of a neutral arbitrator, the tainted selection process renders the neutral arbitrator corrupt,” Erie Insurance’s attorneys said, according to the report.