Eleventh Circuit Adopts Manifest Disregard of the Law as a Non-Statutory Ground for Vacating an Arbitration Award - Montes v. Shearson Lehman Brothers, Inc., The

When parties agree to resolve disputes through arbitration, they expect the resolution to be binding and final. There are a few situations, however, where a court will be willing to intervene and vacate the arbitration board's award. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, in Montes v. Shearson Lehman Brothers, Inc., recognized that manifest disregard of the law by an arbitrator is a reason to abandon the arbitrator's ruling and remand the case to a new arbitration board. The court established that when it can be shown that the arbitrator knew the law and expressly ignored it, his decision will not be honored.