Under the Federal Arbitration Act, an award may be vacated for corruption or fraud, evident partiality, arbitrator misconduct, or where the arbitrator exceeded their powers. Manifest disregard of the law survives as a ground in some circuits.
Legal and factual error alone is insufficient.
Alternative Names:
Vacating an Award, Motion to Vacate Award
Why it Matters?
Success rates are very low, and courts describe the review as among the narrowest in law. Evident partiality based on undisclosed relationships is the ground most likely to succeed, which makes arbitrator disclosure review at selection worthwhile rather than perfunctory. Exceeding powers claims succeed occasionally where an award grants relief the agreement did not authorize, which is worth examining against the arbitration clause's scope.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What grounds support vacatur?
Which ground succeeds most often?
