Dawsey v. Raymond James Financial Services, Inc.

Summary

The Alabama Supreme Court dismissed Dawsey's appeal from an arbitration award because the circuit clerk had not entered the award as a judgment of the court, a prerequisite to judicial review under Alabama law. The court held that the Federal Arbitration Act did not independently confer jurisdiction on the Alabama trial court under the circumstances presented. It directed the Houston County circuit clerk to enter the arbitration award as the judgment and instructed Dawsey to proceed under Alabama Rule of Civil Procedure 71B if he continued to seek review.

Holdings

1. Under § 6-6-15, Ala. Code 1975, the circuit clerk must enter the arbitration award as the judgment of the court before the trial court may exercise jurisdiction to review the award. Without that entry, the trial court's action on the award is void and the appellate court must dismiss an appeal from it.
2. Section 9 of the Federal Arbitration Act did not supply a jurisdictional basis for the Alabama trial court because the parties did not file their applications in the United States court for the federal district where the arbitration occurred, and the arbitration agreement did not specify a court for entry of judgment.

Questions Presented

1. Whether an Alabama appellate court may review an arbitration award when the circuit clerk has not entered the award as a conditional judgment of the court.
2. Whether the Federal Arbitration Act conferred jurisdiction on the Alabama trial court when the parties filed their motions in state court rather than in the specified federal district court.

Disposition

dismissed