The University of Notre Dame (USA) in England v. TJAC Waterloo, LLC

Summary

**Key Legal Topics:** Foreign arbitral award confirmation; statute of limitations under 9 U.S.C. § 207; finality of interim arbitral awards; New York Convention Article V(1)(e) "binding" requirement; bifurcated arbitration proceedings. **Holdings:** The First Circuit held that an interim damages award in a bifurcated arbitration is not "made" for purposes of the three-year statute of limitations under 9 U.S.C. § 207 until it becomes binding on the parties—i.e., when the arbitrator issues a comprehensive final award resolving all damages claims. The court affirmed confirmation of the damages awards, rejecting the argument that Award No. 4 was final upon issuance, because the arbitrator did not intend it to be a final, confirmable award and the parties had not agreed to treat interim damages awards as separately final. The statute of limitations began running only upon issuance of the final award (Award No. 7), so the confirmation petition was timely.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the three-year statute of limitations under 9 U.S.C. § 207 bars judicial confirmation of Award No. 4 because Notre Dame's motion was filed more than three years after the award was issued.
2. Whether Award No. 4 was a final arbitral award upon issuance, such that the statute of limitations began to run on April 11, 2017.