Litigators Eye AAA Rules Allowing Appeal of Arbitral Decisions
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For the first time, parties in a dispute before the American Arbitration Association (AAA) can opt for built-in appellate review of arbitral awards. But reception to the new AAA appellate rules, which became effective on Nov. 1, has been mixed among Texas litigators.
The AAA’s optional appellate rules can only be used when there is an agreement between the parties, and the rules only allow parties to appeal based on errors of law and clearly erroneous determinations of fact. The AAA appellate panel consists of former federal and state judges, as well as neutrals with appellate experience. The AAA anticipates the appellate panel can rule within three months.
While noting that arbitration originally was designed to provide parties with quick and efficient binding rulings without appellate delays, Eric Tuchmann, general counsel for the AAA, says the association decided to offer an appellate option for a couple of reasons.
The first was the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2008 ruling in Hall Street Associates v. Mattel. In the 6-3 decision the high court foreclosed parties’ ability to contract for expanded judicial review of arbitration decisions, outside of a very narrow set of circumstances allowed under the Federal Arbitration Act, Tuchmann said. Even though the AAA supported the majority decision in Hall Street, the association came up with the new appellate rules because clients asked for them, he said.
Read original articleTags: AAA, American Arbitration Association
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