TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

State Supreme Court Clarifies Lower Court Jurisdiction in Out-of-State Arbitration Cases

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Jan 23, 2026

The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that Tennessee courts lack jurisdiction to confirm arbitration awards when the parties agree that the arbitration occur in another state, according to a press release from the Administrative Office of the Courts. In Berkeley Research Group LLC v. Southern Advanced Materials LLC, the parties entered into a contract providing that any disputes would be resolved through arbitration in Philadelphia. When a dispute arose, the parties conducted arbitration over Zoom with the arbitrator located in Philadelphia. The arbitrator ruled in favor of Berkeley Research Group, which then filed a case in Shelby County Chancery Court to confirm the arbitration award. The Supreme Court held that under the Uniform Arbitration Act, Tennessee courts do not have subject matter jurisdiction to confirm an out-of-state arbitration award.

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