25-2613. Vacating an award.

(a) Upon application of a party, the court shall vacate an award when:

(1) The award was procured by corruption, fraud, or other undue means;

(2) There was evident partiality by an arbitrator appointed as a neutral or corruption in any of the arbitrators or misconduct prejudicing the rights of any party;

(3) The arbitrators exceeded their powers;

(4) The arbitrators refused to postpone the hearing upon sufficient cause being shown therefor, refused to hear evidence material to the controversy, or otherwise so conducted the hearing, contrary to the provisions of section 25-2606, as to prejudice substantially the rights of a party;

(5) There was no arbitration agreement and the issue was not adversely determined in proceedings under section 25-2603, and the party did not participate in the arbitration hearing without raising the objection; or

(6) An arbitrator was subject to disqualification pursuant to section 25-2604.01 and failed, upon receipt of timely demand, to disqualify himself or herself as required by such section.

The fact that the relief was such that it could not or would not be granted by a court of law or equity is not ground for vacating or refusing to confirm the award.

(b) An application under this section shall be made within ninety days after delivery of a copy of the award to the applicant, except that if predicated upon corruption, fraud, or other undue means, it shall be made within ninety days after such grounds are known or should have been known.

(c) In vacating the award on grounds other than stated in subdivision (a)(5) of this section, the court may order a rehearing before the new arbitrators chosen as provided in the agreement or, in the absence thereof, by the court in accordance with section 25-2604, or if the award is vacated on grounds set forth in subdivisions (a)(3) and (a)(4) of this section, the court may order a rehearing before the arbitrators who made the award or their successors appointed in accordance with section 25-2604. The time within which the agreement requires the award to be made is applicable to the rehearing and commences from the date of the order.

(d) If the application to vacate is denied and no motion to modify or correct the award is pending, the court shall confirm the award.

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Annotations

A court may refuse to enforce an arbitration award that is contrary to a public policy that is explicit, well defined, and dominant. Such a public policy must be ascertained by reference to laws and legal precedents, not from general considerations of supposed public interests; but the arbitration award need not itself violate positive law to be unenforceable as against public policy. State v. Henderson, 277 Neb. 240, 762 N.W.2d 1 (2009).

Pursuant to subsection (a)(6) of this section, the district court lacked authority to vacate the arbitrator's award pursuant to the Uniform Arbitration Act on the basis that it was inequitable. Hartman v. City of Grand Island, 265 Neb. 433, 657 N.W.2d 641 (2003).

The trial court did not err in finding that lack of a formal notice under section 25-2606 was an insufficient ground to vacate an arbitration award. Damrow v. Murdoch, 15 Neb. App. 920, 739 N.W.2d 229 (2007).