Thanks for the info. Thanks for that question, I re-read the FAA section 9 and it says that if no court was named then it should be filed in the district where the award was made.
That is not exactly what the statute says. What it says is "If no court is specified in the agreement of the parties, then such application may be made to the United States court in and for the district within which such award was made." (Underlining added.) That word may is important.
The statement by the arbitrator about where the confirmation action may be filed is not an agreement of the parties, so under that provision of the FAA you may file the confirmation in the U.S. district court that covers where the award was made, which most federal courts take to mean the location where the arbitration hearing takes place. But the U.S. Supreme Court has said that because the word may is used rather than shall and given the legislative history of FAA § 9 the venue provision in the statute is permissive, not mandatory. In other words, it allows you to file it in the U.S. district court that covers where the arbitration hearing was held, but that is not the only court where you may file. You may also file in any other district where venue would be appropriate for the particular claim involved under the federal venue statutes. Specifically, the Court said:
The precise issue raised in the District Court was whether venue for Cortez Byrd's motion under §§ 10 and 11 was properly laid in the southern district of Mississippi, within which the contract was performed. It was clearly proper under the general venue statute, which provides, among other things, for venue in a diversity action in “a judicial district in which a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred, or a substantial part of property that is the subject of the action is situated.” 28 U.S.C. § 1391(a)(2). If §§ 10 and 11 are permissive and thus supplement, but do not supplant, the general provision, Cortez Byrd's motion to vacate or modify was properly filed in Mississippi, and under principles of deference to the court of first filing, the Alabama court should have considered staying its hand....
With that we agree in holding the permissive view of FAA venue provisions entitled to prevail.
Cortez Byrd Chips, Inc. v. Bill Harbert Const. Co., 529 U.S. 193, 198, 120 S. Ct. 1331, 1335–36, 146 L. Ed. 2d 171 (2000).
Thus, the Court states that the venue provision in FAA § 9 supplements rather than replaces the general rules for venue. You'd need to look at the venue rules for the type of claim that was involved in the arbitration to find out in what other courts you may file for confirmation of the award.
So if the Arbitrator stated "any US District Court" then it should logically be filed in the same district the hearing took place and the award was granted despite where the claimant and respondent reside. So for example if I am in California, the respondant is in New York but the hearing and award was help and granted in Georgia, then I would file for comnfirmation in one of the Branch Courts in Georgia.. Do I understand that correctly?
Well, "branch" is not the right term, but given your example one of the places you may file for the confirmation would be in the District Court that covers the place in Georgia where the arbitration took place. But it is not limited to that. You may also file where the general venue provisions would let you file. That will vary depending on the type of claim involved, but generally it is always good to file in the district in which the defendant resides. Filing where the defendant resides would make service easier and if that is also where the defendant has most or all of his/her/its assets that may be the best choice all around.
The bottom line here is that while you can't just pick any district court in the country in which to file for confirmation, you are not just limited to the district court that covers the place where the arbitration hearing was held either. You may also select any court where venue would otherwise be proper under the general venue rules.
