GableGotwals Secures Key Appellate Result in Fourteenth Court of Appeals

March 10, 2026 |The Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston affirmed a trial court order confirming an arbitration award in favor of Appellee Cord Largo.  Significantly, the court of appeals recognized in its opinion that the mandatory venue clause in Section 171.096(c) of the Texas Arbitration Act applies equally to confirmation proceedings from arbitrations that are otherwise subject to the Federal Arbitration Act.  The court of appeals also concluded that even though Appellant Martin Phipps was not a signatory to the applicable arbitration clause, he voluntarily participated in the arbitration and therefore was subject to the 3-month statute of limitations under the Federal Arbitration Act for challenging an arbitration award.

Congratulations to the team – Ross Sears and Cyndi Rusnack of Sears Crawford, and Byron Keeling of GableGotwals – on this outstanding result!