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Consistent With Inconsistency: The Sixth Circuit Keeps Manifest Disregard After Hall Street, John C. Steffens

Journal of Dispute Resolution

For over half a century, courts have used the doctrine of manifest disregard as a ground for vacating arbitration awards. However, the Supreme Court's ruling in Hall Street Associates. v. Mattel raised questions among lower courts regarding the viability of the doctrine after the Hall Street decision. Today, many lower courts differ in their application of the doctrine. Some courts claim that the Hall Street decision has ended the viability of manifest disregard. Others claim that the doctrine lives on as an interpretation of section 10 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA),5 despite the Supreme Court's ruling in Hall Street.