The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today issued an opinion, McCarthy v. Citigroup Global Markets Inc., reinstating an NASD arbitration award. In what the court described as an “unusual circumstance,” it was the second time the district court had vacated and remanded the same arbitration proceeding. But the circuit court — noting that the standard for overturning an arbitration award is that it was made “in manifest disregard of the law” — concluded that the district court erred by substituting its own decision on the merits for that of the arbitration panel. The decision reaffirms in strong language the deference courts should show to arbitration awards. (Full disclosure: I am a member of the NASD ADR panel.)

Photo of Bob Ambrogi Bob Ambrogi

Bob is a lawyer, veteran legal journalist, and award-winning blogger and podcaster. In 2011, he was named to the inaugural Fastcase 50, honoring “the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders.” Earlier in his career, he was editor-in-chief of several legal publications, including The National Law Journal, and editorial director of ALM’s Litigation Services Division.