In NYLJ: Enforcing New York Convention Awards In the United States: Getting It Right

April 6, 2018 - In his latest International Arbitration column for the New York Law Journal, John Fellas examined the various distinctions made by the Second Circuit in a 2017 ruling and their implications for parties applying to U.S. courts to reduce an award to judgment.

The April 5 article, "Enforcing New York Convention Awards in the United States: Getting It Right," focused on the appeals court's finding in GBF Industria de Gusa S/A v. AMCI Holdings that a federal judge in New York erred when he held that an International Chamber of Commerce award needed to first be confirmed and turned into a court judgment before it could be enforced.

In its decision, Fellas noted, the Second Circuit provided guidance to avoid the "confusion" that sometimes accompanies applications to U.S. district courts to reduce arbitration awards to judgment.

"Parties applying to reduce a New York Convention award to judgment would do well to follow the guidance and terminology used by the Second Circuit in Gusa," Fellas wrote, "and take care that the court decisions they cite in support of their positions correspond in juridical posture to that of the court deciding the application."