How to Vacate an Arbitration Award in Florida

November 11 2026

Matthew Fornaro

Business Litigation Attorney · Coral Springs, FL

Matthew Fornaro is a Florida business law attorney serving Coral Springs, Parkland, and Broward County. He represents small businesses in commercial litigation, contract disputes, and business torts. Schedule a consultation →

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A Florida court can vacate an arbitration award only on narrow statutory grounds: fraud or corruption, evident partiality, arbitrator misconduct, an arbitrator exceeding their powers, or a hearing run so unfairly that your rights were substantially prejudiced. Losing on the merits is not enough. You generally have 90 days to file, and a motion that does not state specific facts will fail.

If you just lost an arbitration and your business is weighing its options, the rest of this guide covers the grounds, the clock, what the motion must contain, and what happens next.

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TL;DR

Florida courts treat arbitration awards as final. A mistake of law or fact, or a bad reading of the contract, is generally not a ground to vacate.
The grounds are listed in Fla. Stat. § 682.13: fraud or corruption, evident partiality, misconduct, or the arbitrator exceeding their powers.
The deadline is 90 days from notice of the award. For fraud or undue means, it runs from when you knew or reasonably should have known.
Your motion must plead specific facts, not conclusions. If it is denied and nothing else is pending, the court must confirm the award.
Decide fast: the 90 days start before you may have finished reading the award.

What vacating an award actually means
Which law applies: Florida or federal
The statutory grounds under Florida law
The 90-day deadline
How to file a motion to vacate
What happens after the ruling
Our perspective
Work with a Florida business dispute lawyer
Preparing before you ever need to vacate
FAQ
Sources

What vacating an award actually means

Vacating an award asks the court to wipe it out. It is not an appeal. The court does not re-decide who was right. It asks whether something went wrong with the process itself.

The Florida Bar describes judicial review of awards as extremely narrow, serving the policy of finality. Courts intervene for defects that taint the process, not for disagreement with the outcome.

That is the trade businesses make when they sign an arbitration clause: speed and finality in exchange for very limited review. If you want background on how those clauses work in practice, see our overview of the arbitration process for Florida businesses.

Which law applies: Florida or federal

Two statutes can be in play. The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) governs when the underlying transaction involves interstate commerce. The Florida Arbitration Code (FAC), Chapter 682, applies to contracts outside interstate commerce, and Florida courts often apply the FAC alongside the FAA when it does not conflict with federal policy.

For a South Florida small business, this matters for two reasons.

The grounds are similar but not identical. Federal courts in Florida read the FAA grounds strictly as the exclusive bases for relief and generally reject non-statutory grounds such as manifest disregard of the law.
The deadline can differ. The FAA has a three-month limit, while Florida law sets 90 days. A Florida appellate court has held that the FAA’s three-month period does not preempt Florida’s 90-day deadline, treating it as a procedural rule that does not conflict with federal policy.

If you are unsure which statute governs your award, count from the earlier date and confirm with counsel before you rely on the longer one.

The statutory grounds under Florida law

Section 682.13(1) says the court shall vacate an award when one of the listed grounds is shown. According to the Florida Statutes, the grounds include:

The award was procured by corruption, fraud, or undue means.
There was evident partiality or corruption by an arbitrator.
An arbitrator engaged in misconduct that prejudiced a party’s rights.
The arbitrator exceeded their powers.
The arbitrator refused to postpone a hearing on sufficient cause, refused to hear material evidence, or otherwise conducted the hearing contrary to § 682.06 so as to substantially prejudice a party’s rights.

The statute lists further grounds, including lack of a valid arbitration agreement in certain circumstances, so read the full text for your situation.

What does not qualify

Florida courts generally hold that errors of law or fact, or errors in construing the contract are not grounds to vacate. The arbitrator misread a clause? Weighed the evidence differently than you would? Awarded damages you think are too high? None of that, standing alone, is enough.

What strong grounds look like in practice

The successful cases tend to share one feature: a concrete failure of fairness that you can document.

Situation	Likely ground	What you would need
The other side hid or fabricated evidence that shaped the result	Fraud or undue means	Proof of the fraud and how it affected the award
An arbitrator had an undisclosed relationship with the opposing party	Evident partiality	Facts showing the relationship and when you learned of it
The arbitrator refused to hear a key witness or document	Refusal to hear material evidence	The record showing the request and refusal, and the prejudice
The arbitrator decided issues outside the submission	Exceeded powers	The agreement and the scope of what was submitted
The arbitrator disagreed with your reading of the contract	None	Not a valid basis on its own

This table is a general illustration, not a prediction. Whether your facts fit a ground is a legal judgment that depends on the record.

The 90-day deadline

The motion must be filed within 90 days after you receive notice of the award, or notice of a modified or corrected award. If the ground is corruption, fraud, or other undue means, the 90 days run from when you knew or reasonably should have known of it.

Two practical points:

Asking the arbitrator to correct the award does not stop the clock. A party may ask the arbitrator to clarify, modify, or correct an award within 20 days under § 682.10, but that does not necessarily suspend the 90-day judicial deadline.
A motion to modify has its own 90 days. Under § 682.14, a motion to modify or correct must also be filed within 90 days of notice, and it can be joined in the alternative with a motion to vacate.

Treat the date you received the award as day one of a calendar you cannot extend by agreement or goodwill.

How to file a motion to vacate

The motion goes to the court with jurisdiction over the arbitration. Whatever the format, the content rules are strict.

Gather the record. Collect the arbitration agreement, the demand and response, the hearing transcript or recordings, exhibits, correspondence with the arbitrator or administrator, and the award itself.
Pick the ground and tie it to facts. A motion must state its grounds with particularity and give specific factual allegations. In Fisten v. Brown, the Third District Court of Appeal confirmed that conclusory statements are legally insufficient under Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.100(b), and that allegations should be supported by record citations.
Plead alternatives. Where it makes sense, ask in the alternative to modify or correct the award, so you do not lose that option.
File and serve within the deadline. Do not wait for the last week. Drafting a record-based motion takes time.
Prepare for the response. The winning party will usually move to confirm the award, so expect to defend your motion on the same record.

What happens after the ruling

If the court grants the motion, the award is vacated. Depending on the ground, the matter may go back to arbitration, sometimes before a new arbitrator, or the parties may face a different path forward. The result turns on the order the court enters and the arbitration agreement.

If the court denies the motion and no motion to modify or correct is pending, the court has no discretion. As the Third District explained in Fisten, it must confirm the award under § 682.13(4). Confirmation turns the award into a judgment that can be enforced. We cover that stage in our guide to enforcing arbitration awards in Florida.

Our perspective

Most business owners who call us after an award are angry about the result, and that is understandable. But the strongest first step is an honest read of the record. Did something go wrong in how the hearing was run, or did the arbitrator simply decide against you?

The answer shapes everything. If there is a documented problem with fairness, evidence, or the arbitrator’s authority, we move quickly, because the 90-day window leaves little room. If the complaint is really about the merits, we say so and help you plan for confirmation, negotiation, or payment terms.

The best protection comes earlier. Clear arbitration clauses, a sound record at the hearing, and objections raised in real time make any later challenge far more credible. With over 20 years of experience in court and arbitration, our approach is to prepare for the end of the case at the start of it.

Matthew

Work with a Florida business dispute lawyer

If you have an award in hand and the clock is running, we can review the award, the agreement, and the record with you and tell you where you stand. Our arbitration and mediation services cover representation before and after an award, and our business litigation work covers the court side, including motions to vacate and confirm. We serve small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs across South Florida.

Fee arrangements depend on the scope and complexity of the matter. Contact us through Fornarolegal to discuss yours.

Preparing before you ever need to vacate

A few habits make the biggest difference if a dispute heads to arbitration.

Read the clause before you sign. Know which rules govern, how arbitrators are chosen, and whether disclosure of conflicts is required.
Object on the record. If an arbitrator refuses a postponement or evidence, state your objection clearly so the record shows it.
Keep the pleadings and submissions tidy. Know exactly what was submitted for decision, since a claim that the arbitrator went beyond it depends on that.
Calendar the deadlines on day one. Note the 20-day window to request correction and the 90-day window for a motion.

Our guide on how to arbitrate a business dispute in Florida walks through these early steps.

FAQ

Can I vacate an arbitration award because the arbitrator got the law wrong?

Generally no. Florida courts hold that errors of law or fact are not valid grounds for vacatur. You must fit one of the statutory grounds, such as fraud, evident partiality, misconduct, or the arbitrator exceeding their powers.

How long do I have to file a motion to vacate in Florida?

The deadline is 90 days after notice of the award, or of a modified or corrected award. For fraud or undue means, it runs from when you knew or should have known. Do not assume a request to the arbitrator pauses it.

What happens if my motion to vacate is denied?

If no motion to modify or correct is pending, the court must confirm the award under § 682.13(4), as Fisten v. Brown explains. The award then becomes a judgment that can be enforced.

Does the Federal Arbitration Act or Florida law control?

Both may apply. The FAA governs interstate commerce transactions, while the Florida Arbitration Code covers other contracts, and Florida courts often apply it alongside the FAA. Your contract and the facts decide which one controls.