Cat Charter, LLC v. Schurtenberger

TJOFLAT, Circuit Judge:

The Federal Arbitration Act (the “FAA” or the “Act”), 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq., provides for expedited and limited judicial review of arbitration awards, id. §§ 9-11. Section 10(a) of the Act delineates four grounds that permit a court to vacate an award. The question here is whether arbitrators “exceeded their powers” — thereby justifying vacatur of their award under § 10(a)(4) — when they purportedly failed to provide a “reasoned award” as agreed to by the parties. The district court held that they had and therefore vacated the award. We respectfully disagree and reverse.

I