Title 9, ArbitrationRelease 119-102

§10 Same; Vacation; Grounds; Rehearing

Title 9 › CHAPTER 1 — GENERAL PROVISIONS › § 10

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

A U.S. district court where the award was made can cancel an arbitration award if a party asks. There are four reasons for this: (1) the award was gotten by corruption, fraud, or improper means; (2) the arbitrators showed clear bias or corruption; (3) the arbitrators misbehaved, for example by refusing to delay the hearing for good reason or refusing to hear important evidence, or other conduct that hurt a party; or (4) the arbitrators went beyond their powers or failed to make a clear, final decision. If the award is canceled and the time allowed for making the award under the agreement has not passed, the court may order a new hearing by the arbitrators. If the award was made under section 580 of title 5, a person who was not a party but is harmed can ask the same district court to cancel the award if using arbitration or the award clearly conflicts with the factors in section 572 of title 5.

Full Legal Text

Title 9, §10

Arbitration, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In any of the following cases the United States court in and for the district wherein the award was made may make an order vacating the award upon the application of any party to the arbitration—
(1)where the award was procured by corruption, fraud, or undue means;
(2)where there was evident partiality or corruption in the arbitrators, or either of them;
(3)where the arbitrators were guilty of misconduct in refusing to postpone the hearing, upon sufficient cause shown, or in refusing to hear evidence pertinent and material to the controversy; or of any other misbehavior by which the rights of any party have been prejudiced; or
(4)where the arbitrators exceeded their powers, or so imperfectly executed them that a mutual, final, and definite award upon the subject matter submitted was not made.
(b)If an award is vacated and the time within which the agreement required the award to be made has not expired, the court may, in its discretion, direct a rehearing by the arbitrators.
(c)The United States district court for the district wherein an award was made that was issued pursuant to section 580 of title 5 may make an order vacating the award upon the application of a person, other than a party to the arbitration, who is adversely affected or aggrieved by the award, if the use of arbitration or the award is clearly inconsistent with the factors set forth in section 572 of title 5.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

DerivationAct Feb. 12, 1925, ch. 213, § 10, 43 Stat. 885.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2002—Subsec. (a)(1) to (4). Pub. L. 107–169, § 1(1)–(3), substituted “where” for “Where” and realigned margins in pars. (1) to (4), and substituted a semicolon for period at end in pars. (1) and (2) and “; or” for the period at end in par. (3). Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 107–169, § 1(5), substituted “If an award” for “Where an award”, inserted a comma after “expired”, and redesignated par. (5) as subsec. (b). Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 107–169, § 1(4), (5), redesignated subsec. (a)(5) as (b). Former subsec. (b) redesignated (c). Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 107–169, § 1(4), redesignated subsec. (b) as (c). 1992—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 102–354 substituted “section 580” for “section 590” and “section 572” for “section 582”. 1990—Pub. L. 101–552 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), in introductory provisions substituted “In any” for “In either”, redesignated former subsecs. (a) to (e) as pars. (1) to (5), respectively, and added subsec. (b) which read as follows: “The United States district court for the district wherein an award was made that was issued pursuant to section 580 of title 5 may make an order vacating the award upon the application of a person, other than a party to the arbitration, who is adversely affected or aggrieved by the award, if the use of arbitration or the award is clearly inconsistent with the factors set forth in section 572 of title 5.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

9 U.S.C. § 10

Title 9, Arbitration

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102