196
Opinion of the Court
in Birmingham, Alabama. The next month, the arbitration panel issued an award in favor of Harbert. Ibid.
In January 1998, Cortez Byrd filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi seeking to vacate or modify the arbitration award, which Harbert then sought to confirm by filing this action seven days later in the Northern District of Alabama. When Cortez Byrd moved to dismiss, transfer, or stay the Alabama action, the Alabama District Court denied the motion, concluding that venue was proper only in the Northern District of Alabama, and entering judgment for Harbert for $274,256.90 plus interest and costs. Ibid.
The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed. It held itself bound by pre-1981 Fifth Circuit precedent, cf. Bonner v. Prichard, 661 F. 2d 1206, 1209 (CA11 1981), to the effect that under the Act's venue provisions, 9 U. S. C. §§ 9-11, venue for motions to confirm, vacate, or modify awards was exclusively in the district in which the arbitration award was made. 169 F. 3d, at 694; Naples v. Prepakt Concrete Co., 490 F. 2d 182, 184 (CA5), cert. denied, 419 U. S. 843 (1974). The arbitration here having been held in Birmingham, the rule as so construed limited venue to the Northern District of Alabama.
We granted certiorari, 527 U. S. 1062 (1999), to resolve a split among the Courts of Appeals over the permissive or mandatory character of the FAA's venue provisions. Compare In re VMS Securities Litigation, 21 F. 3d 139, 144-145 (CA7 1994) (§§ 9 and 10 permissive); Smiga v. Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc., 766 F. 2d 698, 706 (CA2 1985), cert. denied, 475 U. S. 1067 (1986) (§ 9 permissive); Sutter Corp. v. P & P Indus., Inc., 125 F. 3d 914, 918-920 (CA5 1997) (§§ 9 and 10 permissive); P & P Indus., Inc. v. Sutter Corp., 179 F. 3d 861, 869-870 (CA10 1999) (§§ 9 and 10 permissive); Apex Plumbing Supply, Inc. v. U. S. Supply Co., 142 F. 3d 188, 192 (CA4 1998) (§ 9 permissive); Nordin v. Nutri/System, Inc., 897 F. 2d 339, 344 (CA8 1990) (§ 9 permissive), with Central
Page: Index Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007