Originally from Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation

PAGE PREVIEW

There’s new law coming on confirming an arbitration award. Are you ready for a “jurisdictional anchor” to get into federal court? If not, your confirmation move could be in state court.

The question under recent U.S. Supreme Court and federal circuit court cases is whether a federal-question case stayed pending arbitration has continuing subject-matter jurisdiction to hear post-award motions to confirm, vacate, or modify an award. And there’s surely more judicial guidance on the way to address and hopefully settle that question.

In Badgerow v. Walters, 596 U.S. 1, 142 S. Ct. 1310 (2022) (available at https://bit.ly/47CVvRG), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a basis for subject-matter jurisdiction—independent from the Federal Arbitration Act (available at https://bit.ly/43h4buX) itself—must appear on the face of a standalone or independent petition to confirm or vacate an arbitration award and that independent basis cannot be established by “looking through” to the underlying arbitration proceeding. See Badgerow, 142 S. Ct. at 1314, 1320.