The Tenth Circuit joined a majority holding that the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) permits modification of an arbitration award for a “material miscalculation of figures” if the miscalculation is “evident” on the face of the award and precludes consideration of the underlying record.
Section 11 of the FAA provides:
In either of the following cases, the United States court in and for the district wherein the award was made may make an order modifying or correcting the award upon the application of any party to the arbitration—
(a) Where there was an evident material ...
Within weeks, the Second and Third Circuits reached opposite conclusions over federal jurisdiction to confirm, modify or vacate arbitration awards. The Second Circuit now allows courts to look through the face of the petition to assess the federal-question jurisdictional merit of the underlying dispute; the Third Circuit doesn't (along with the DC and Seventh Circuits).
In 2009, the Supreme Court held the text of Section 4 of the Federal Arbitration Act required "look-through" assessment of the underlying dispute in motions to compel arbitration, based on the statute's text:
"A ...