“Reasoned” Arbitration Awards

The FAA requires that arbitration awards be "in writing". Some arbitration rules -- such as the AAA Employment Arbitration Rules -- require that awards be "reasoned", while other rules -- such as the AAA Commercial Arbitration Rules -- permit awards that are merely dispositional. An award may be unenforceable in court if the applicable rules or an agreement of the parties require reasoned awards, but the award is sparsely or poorly reasoned, or is conclusory or merely dispositional. However, there is no consensus on the standards that courts use to judge whether an arbitration award is sufficiently "reasoned." This article will review and evaluate the existing case law and propose meaningful standards for evaluating whether an award is "reasoned".