(A) Another term for an arbiter or arbitrator. It is also used to resolve arbitration proceedings where the original arbitrators (there may be more than one) cannot unanimously agree upon a decision or award. (B) A person selected by two or more arbitrators. When they are authorize to do so by the submission of the parties, and they cannot agree as to the subject-matter referred to them, whose duty it is to decide the matter in dispute. Sometimes the term is applied to a single arbitrator, selected by the parties themselves.
Law Dictionary – Alternative Legal Definition
When matters in dispute are submitted to two or more arbitrators, and they do not agree in their decision, it is usual for another person to be called in as ‘”umpire,” to whose sole judgment it is then referred. Urn me doit prise advantage de son tort demesne. One ought not to take advantage of his own wrong. Una persona via potest supplere vices duarum. One person can scarcely supply the places of two.