On What Grounds? Challenging an Arbitration Award Under Federal and Florida Law

The legal firm and attorney lost a court case for a client, and they are now being sued for malpractice. The court found that they didn’t do a good job representing their client and made mistakes. This could hurt their reputation and cost them a lot of money. Before the 1920s, arbitration wasn’t popular because courts didn’t like it. But then in 1925, Congress made a law that said arbitration agreements were just as important as regular contracts. About 30 years later, Florida made a similar law. Now, arbitration is a common way to solve problems in Florida. People like arbitration because it’s usually cheaper and faster than going to court. But, if you pick arbitration, you can’t easily change the decision later. This article talks about the rules for challenging arbitration decisions in Florida, including when you can and can’t ask a court to change the decision. It also talks about how parties can agree in advance to have the decision reviewed like a regular court case. If someone wants to challenge an arbitration award, they have to show that there was misconduct or unfairness in the arbitration process in order to be successful. The rules for challenging awards depend on whether the arbitration involves business between different states (FAA) or just within Florida (FAC). The FAC was updated in 2013 to match national arbitration laws.

The main reasons to challenge an award are if there was fraud, bias by the arbitrator, unfair conduct during the hearing, or if the arbitrator made a decision that was not allowed by the arbitration agreement. There are also grounds for changing or correcting an award if a party wants to enforce it in a different way. These rules apply to arbitration agreements made after July 1, 2013. If there are mistakes in the award, like a math error or if the arbitrator decides on something that the parties didn’t agree on, the court can change the award. Awards can also be corrected if there are errors in the written form, as long as it doesn’t affect the main points. In the past, there were other reasons to challenge an arbitration award, but recently, those reasons have been mostly eliminated. The U.S. Supreme Court made a decision in a case involving two companies, saying that parties can’t add extra reasons to challenge an arbitration award. This means that only the specific reasons listed in the law can be used to challenge an arbitration award. Some courts disagreed on whether this rule also applies to reasons made up by the courts, but the Florida Supreme Court said it does. This means that in Florida, only the reasons listed in the law can be used to challenge an arbitration award. This lack of extra reasons for challenging an arbitration award might be a problem for some people who are thinking about arbitration. The drafters of the RUAA recognized that sometimes parties may want a way to challenge an arbitration decision. They suggested that parties could agree to have an appellate arbitration within their initial arbitration process. This would allow for a second look at the decision without involving the courts. Some arbitration organizations already have procedures for appellate arbitration, and the AAA released its own rules for appellate arbitration in 2013. These rules are similar to a judicial appeal and allow for review of legal errors and mistaken facts. Appellate arbitration may be the best option for parties who want to make sure the arbitrator’s decision can be reviewed. Arbitration can be a good option instead of going to court, but it’s important to know that you might not be able to appeal the decision. If you want the right to appeal, make sure it’s in the arbitration agreement. Otherwise, you could be stuck with a decision that doesn’t follow the law or facts of the case with no way to fix it. Basically, when it comes to reviewing arbitration decisions in Florida, the state law is similar to federal law and they usually have the same outcome. Florida courts can even look to federal case law for guidance. The purpose of the revised Florida Arbitration Code was to adopt the Uniform Arbitration Act. The code has new provisions for enforcing arbitration agreements and conducting the arbitration process. The grounds for challenging an arbitration award in Florida are limited to concerns that may have impacted the arbitration process. Perjured testimony by an expert witness may not lead to overturning an arbitration award if it only concerns a minor issue. Arbitrators have a duty to be fair and impartial. They must disclose any personal or financial interests related to the case. If they don’t, they are assumed to be biased. Bias in a party-appointed arbitrator is okay unless it’s considered corruption, which means using their position for personal gain. Prejudicial misconduct or unfair treatment can also lead to a decision being overturned. If evidence is excluded and it’s not important, it won’t affect the outcome of the arbitration. Always make sure the arbitrator is fair and follows the rules. If an arbitrator makes a decision that goes beyond what the parties agreed to, or doesn’t follow the rules in the agreement, their decision can be challenged or overturned. The parties have to agree to the arbitrator’s authority, and if they don’t, the decision can be questioned. There are rules in place to make sure arbitrators follow the agreement and make fair decisions. If the arbitrator does something wrong, the decision can be reversed or changed. This passage includes references to legal cases and rules related to appeals in the court. It also mentions an attorney and their practice. The main point is that the passage is about appellate law and commercial litigation, and it’s written by an attorney on behalf of a section related to appellate practice. This information is helpful for anyone interested in legal matters and the court system.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/on-what-grounds-challenging-an-arbitration-award-under-federal-and-florida-law/