Authorities Split After the Supreme Court’s Hall Street Decision: What Is Left of the Manifest Disregard Doctrine?

Abstract

Arbitration is a private-sector court. Rather than litigating in a government court (in which a judge or jury resolves the dispute), many parties form contracts obligating themselves to have their disputes resolved by an arbitrator. The arbitrator’s decision in such a case, typically called an arbitration “award,” can be enforced in court. To do this, the party that won in arbitration can get a court order “confirming” the arbitration award. “A confirmed award in favor of the plaintiff (or ‘claimant’) is enforced in the same manner as other court judgments,” and an arbitration award in favor of the defendant precludes the plaintiff from reasserting in court the claim the plaintiff lost in arbitration. So arbitration awards are generally final and binding...