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Posts Tagged ‘Limitation Period’

How Much Time do I have to Serve and File a Motion to Confirm a U.S.-Made Arbitration Award under the Federal Arbitration Act?

March 24th, 2020 Applicability of Federal Arbitration Act, Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration and Mediation FAQs, Arbitration Law, Arbitration Practice and Procedure, Awards, Confirmation of Awards, FAA Chapter 1, FAA Chapter 2, Federal Arbitration Act 202, Federal Arbitration Act Enforcement Litigation Procedure, Federal Arbitration Act Section 1, Federal Arbitration Act Section 2, Federal Arbitration Act Section 207, Federal Arbitration Act Section 9, New York Convention 1 Comment »
Statute of Limitations, Confirm

Chapter One of the Federal Arbitration Act authorizes courts to confirm arbitration awards falling within the scope of the Act, if the parties implicitly or expressly agree that a judgment may be entered on the award.

To confirm an award is to reduce it to a judgment of the court, which can be enforced like any other judgment. For some detailed information on confirming arbitration awards, see here.

But how much time do you or your business have to confirm an arbitration award that is made in the United States? The answer depends on whether your arbitration award falls under Chapter One of the Federal Arbitration Act or also under Chapter Two of the Federal Arbitration Act, which implements the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “Convention”). Because some arbitration awards made in the United States are completely domestic, while others are not, and different limitation periods apply to applications to confirm them.

If the award falls under Chapter One of the Federal Arbitration Act, but not Chapter Two, then your application to confirm must be made within one-year of the date on which the “award was made.” 9 U.S.C. § 9. But if your domestic award falls under the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, then your application to confirm must be made “[w]ithin three years after. . . [the]. . . award. . . is made.” 9 U.S.C. § 207.

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