Arbitration Order is Not ‘Award’ and Cannot be Judicially Confirmed, N.Y. Federal Judge Rules

NEW YORK — An order in which an arbitration panel determined that a claim is not arbitrable is not an “award” as defined by the Federal Arbitration Act and therefore cannot be judicially confirmed, a New York federal judge has ruled.

On Sept. 15, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York further held that because the order was not “a final adjudication of a claim on the merits,” the arbitration panel was free to later reverse its position and determine that the claim is arbitrable.

Daniel Gulak made investments in three …