{"id":904921,"date":"2025-10-22T15:21:32","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T21:21:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=904921"},"modified":"2025-10-22T15:21:36","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T21:21:36","slug":"arbitration-award-irrational-isnt-ground-to-overturn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/arbitration-award-irrational-isnt-ground-to-overturn\/","title":{"rendered":"When Logic Doesn\u2019t Matter: Why \u2018Irrational\u2019 Isn\u2019t a Ground to Overturn an Arbitration Award in Tennessee"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Matthew DeVries | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bestpracticesconstructionlaw.com\/2025\/10\/articles\/alternative-dispute-resolution\/irrational-arbitration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Best Practice Construction Law<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arbitration has long been viewed as a faster, more efficient alternative to litigation. But anyone involved in construction disputes today knows that is not always the case. The process can be just as costly, sometimes taking as long as a court case. Yet one thing remains consistent, and it is the most important point for everyone in the construction process to understand before signing an arbitration clause: once an arbitrator decides, that decision is almost always final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That reality was reinforced in a recent Tennessee Court of Appeals decision,\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/cases.justia.com\/tennessee\/court-of-appeals\/2025-m2023-01396-coa-r3-cv.pdf?ts=1749764610\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\"><em>MidSouth Construction, LLC v. Burstiner<\/em>\u00a0(June 12, 2025) (pdf)<\/a><\/strong>. The case involved a homeowner who tried to overturn an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/arbitration-award-failed-to-mediate\/\">arbitration award<\/a> following a dispute about defective deck construction. The homeowner argued that the arbitrator\u2019s decision was \u201cfundamentally irrational.\u201d The court rejected that argument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Under the Tennessee Uniform Arbitration Act (TUAA), a court may vacate an arbitration award only in very limited circumstances, such as corruption, fraud, partiality, or if the arbitrator exceeded his powers. The idea of a \u201cfundamentally irrational\u201d or \u201ccompletely irrational\u201d award does not exist under Tennessee law, although some federal courts have recognized this standard.\u00a0<em>See<\/em>,\u00a0<em>e.g.<\/em>,\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/law.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/appellate-courts\/F3\/341\/987\/468923\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Kyocdera\u00a0 Corp. v. Prudential-Bache Trade Services, Inc.<\/a>, 341 F.3d 987, 997\u00a0<\/em>(9th\u00a0Cir. 2003) (finding that arbitrators \u201cexceed their powers,\u201d thus requiring a court to vacate an award, when the award is \u2018completely irrational.\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Court of Appeals in&nbsp;<em>Midsouth<\/em>confirmed that Tennessee courts cannot overturn arbitration awards simply because they might involve factual or legal mistakes. One key issue in this case was whether the contractor had been given a reasonable opportunity to cure defective work. The arbitrator found that MidSouth had offered to make repairs two or three times but that the homeowner refused access to the property. Even though the work was imperfect, the arbitrator ruled in favor of the contractor, finding that the owner had breached the duty to allow a reasonable opportunity to cure. The appellate court did not reweigh the evidence or second-guess that conclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The lesson for everyone in the construction process (owners, developers, contractors, and subcontractors) is clear. Arbitration gives the arbitrator wide discretion, and once an award is issued, it is rarely disturbed. Whether you win or lose, the decision is almost always final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>When one of your cases is in need of a construction expert, estimates, insurance appraisal or umpire services in defect or insurance disputes &#8211; please call Advise &amp; Consult, Inc. at 888.684.8305, or email <a href=\"mailto:experts@adviseandconsult.net\">experts@adviseandconsult.net<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Matthew DeVries | Best Practice Construction Law Arbitration has long been viewed as a faster, more efficient alternative to litigation. But anyone involved in construction disputes today knows that is not always the case. The process can be just as costly, sometimes taking as long as a court case. Yet one thing remains consistent, and&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/arbitration-award-irrational-isnt-ground-to-overturn\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">When Logic Doesn\u2019t Matter: Why \u2018Irrational\u2019 Isn\u2019t a Ground to Overturn an Arbitration Award in Tennessee<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[41],"tags":[9895,42,10482],"class_list":["post-904921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arbitration","tag-advise-consult","tag-arbitration-2","tag-arbitration-award","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>When Logic Doesn\u2019t Matter: Why \u2018Irrational\u2019 Isn\u2019t a Ground to Overturn an Arbitration Award in Tennessee - Advise &amp; 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