Fifth Circuit Reverses N.D. Tex. Decision Vacating Arbitration Award in BNSF Railway Case

In BNSF Railway v. Alstom Transportation (decision available here), the Fifth Circuit reversed a decision from the Northern District of Texas in a case involving an arbitration panel’s decision. The district court had partially vacated the panel’s final award. The Fifth Circuit reversed that decision and reinstated the panel’s final award. The decision demonstrates how limited a review of an arbitration award is: “Our review of the underlying award is exceedingly deferential. [T]he sole question for us is whether the arbitrator (even arguably) interpreted the parties’ contract, not whether he got its meaning right or wrong.”