Background
Nabila Quraishi appealed a district court order that dismissed her motion to vacate an arbitration award in favor of Creative Planning, LLC. The dismissal was based on her failure to effectuate service of the motion as required by the Federal Arbitration Act within the three-month deadline. The district court was the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri in Kansas City.
The court’s reasoning
Upon de novo review, the court affirmed the dismissal. The court explained that because Creative Planning was not a resident of the district where the arbitration award was made, the Federal Arbitration Act required notice of the motion to vacate to be served by the United States Marshal in the district where Creative Planning resided. Quraishi’s service via FedEx and email did not satisfy this requirement. While the court noted it had not previously decided whether a due-diligence exception to the statutory deadline exists, it declined to apply such an exception because Quraishi did not demonstrate diligence in obtaining counsel or moving for service by the marshal. The court found no merit to arguments regarding Federal Rule of Civil Procedure four, the American Arbitration Association Rules, or general principles of due process and actual notice.
What it means going forward
The ruling reinforces strict compliance with the Federal Arbitration Act’s service of process requirements for motions to vacate arbitration awards, particularly when the adverse party is a non-resident of the district where the award was filed.