Unhappy With Your Arbitration Award? Understanding the Legal Requirements for Vacating an Arbitration Award in Florida

Vacating arbitration awards is not an easy feat. Under Florida law, “arbitration awards are treated with a high degree of conclusiveness and a court has extremely limited discretion to vacate an arbitration award.” Am. Fed’n of State, Cnty. v. Miami-Dade Cnty. Pub. Sch., 95 So. 3d 388, 390 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012). “To vacate an arbitration award, the movant must establish one of six statutory grounds set forth in section 682.13(1).” Sch. Bd. of Broward Cnty. v. Smith, 384 So. 3d 248, 249-50 (Fla. 4th DCA 2024). Under § 682.13(1), Fla. Stat., the Court may vacate an arbitration award if:

(a)        The award was procured by corruption, fraud, or other undue means;

(b)        There was:

1. Evident partiality by an arbitrator appointed as a neutral arbitrator;
2. Corruption by an arbitrator; or
3. Misconduct by an arbitrator prejudicing the rights of a party to the arbitration proceeding;

(c)        An arbitrator refused to postpone the hearing upon showing of sufficient cause for postponement, refused to hear evidence material to the controversy, or otherwise conducted the hearing contrary to s. 682.06, so as to prejudice substantially the rights of a party to the arbitration proceeding;

(d)        An arbitrator exceeded the arbitrator’s powers;

(e)        There was no agreement to arbitrate, unless the person participated in the arbitration proceeding without raising the objection under s. 682.06(3) not later than the beginning of the arbitration hearing; or

(f)        The arbitration was conducted without proper notice of the initiation of an arbitration as required in s. 682.032 so as to prejudice substantially the rights of a party to the arbitration proceeding.

• 682.13(1), Fla. Stat. “Section 682.13(1) sets forth the only grounds upon which an award of an arbitrator . . . may be vacated.”City of Miami v. Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #20, 248 So. 3d 273, 276 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018). The bases for vacating an arbitration award “cannot be supplemented judicially or contractually.”Visiting Nurse Ass’n of Florida, Inc. v. Jupiter Med. Ctr., Inc., 154 So. 3d 1115, 1132 (Fla. 2014). “Unless one of the statutory grounds has been proved, an arbitration award may not be vacated.” Della Penna v. Zabawa, 931 So. 2d 155, 160 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006).

The circumstances set forth in section 682.13(1) are “directed at arbitral misconduct or lack of authority, and not mere errors of law, or errors of construction or interpretation of a contract.” Visiting Nurse, 154 So. 3d at 1134. Indeed,

“[w]hether the arbitrator’s decision was legally correct is irrelevant because an award of arbitration may not be reversed on the ground that the arbitrator made an error of law.” Metro Dade Firefighters, Int’l Ass’n of Fire Fighters, Local 1403 v. Miami-Dade Cnty., 347 So. 3d 1278, 1283 (Fla. 3d DCA 2022). “A motion to vacate is not a mechanism to appeal or otherwise challenge the merits of a dispute conclusively determined in arbitration.” Floridians for Solar Choice, Inc. v. PCI Consultants, Inc., 314 F. Supp. 3d 1346, 1354 (S.D. Fla. 2018). “Every reasonable presumption will be indulged to uphold an arbitration proceeding which has resulted in an award.” B & H Const. & Supply Co., Inc. v. Dist. Bd. of Trustees of Tallahassee Cmty. Coll., Florida, 542 So. 2d 382, 391 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989).

Importantly, “[t]he burden of proof with regard to claims of evident partiality and arbitrator misconduct or misbehavior prejudicing the rights of a party rests with the party raising such allegations.” RDC Golf of Florida I, Inc. v. Apostolicas, 925 So. 2d 1082, 1094 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006).

When it comes to the bias of the arbitrators, the correct test for weighing an arbitrator’s partiality consists of judging whether the party “made a showing through credible evidence, giving rise to a reasonable impression of partiality that was direct, definite, and capable of demonstration, as distinct from a mere appearance of bias that was remote, uncertain, and speculative.” Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1579 v. City of Gainesville, 264 So. 3d 375, 380 (Fla. 1st DCA 2019). Moreover, the partiality of the arbitrator “must be shown to have unfairly affected the rights of the complaining party.” Brandon Jones Sandall Zeide Kohn Chalal & Musso, P.A. v. Beasley & Hauser, P.A., 925 So. 2d 1142, 1145 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006).

Further, the fact that the arbitrator may have considered evidence that is inadmissible at trial is not grounds for vacating an award. It is well settled that arbitrators “enjoy wide latitude in the conduct of proceedings.” Tallahassee Mem’l Reg’l Med. Ctr., Inc. v. Kinsey, 655 So. 2d 1191, 1198 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995). In other words, “an arbitrator has the right to be arbitrary.” Regalado v. Cabezas, 959 So. 2d 282, 287 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007) (Ramirez, J., concurring). “[T]here is no authority for vacating an arbitrators’ award because the arbitrators considered evidence, even evidence that would be inadmissible in a judicial or administrative proceeding.” State Dept. of Ins. v. First Floridian Auto & Home Ins. Co., 803 So. 2d 771, 777 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001).

In fact, when parties agree to arbitration, they “g[i]ve up some of the safeguards which are traditionally afforded to those who go to court.” Affiliated Mktg., Inc. v. Dyco Chemicals & Coatings, Inc., 340 So. 2d 1240, 1243 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976). “Arbitrators are not constrained by formal rules of evidence or procedure.” Kinsey, 655 So. 2d at 1198. Arbitrators are “the sole judge of the facts and the weight to be given to the evidence.” Computer Task Group, 782 So. 2d at 943. And “they are the final judges of such matters as the admissibility and relevance of evidence.” Kinsey, 655 So. 2d at 1198.

As seen, it is not a simple task to vacate an arbitrator’s award. Florida court’s give wide discretion to arbitrators and generally, absent major evidence of corruption, will leave an arbitrator’s award intact.

For more information regarding arbitration actions, contact an experienced arbitration attorney at 305-570-2208. You can also email our trial attorney Eduardo directly at eduardo@ayalalawpa.com.

Don’t hesitate to schedule a case evaluation with us online here.

[The opinions in this blog are not intended to be legal advice. You should consult with an attorney about the particulars of your case].