§ 171.054.Modification or Correction to Award

A short window in which the arbitrators can fix their own award.

Two bases are available. The grounds stated in Section 171.091 — miscalculation, misdescription, a matter not submitted, or imperfect form — and clarification of the award.

Clarification is the broader of the two, and it is not among the grounds a court may act on under Section 171.091.

Two routes bring the question back to the arbitrators. An application by a party, or submission by a court where an application under Sections 171.087 through 171.091 is pending.

The court route can carry conditions. A submission is subject to any condition the court orders.

The party route is short. An application must be made no later than the 20th day after the award is delivered to the applicant.

Notice to the other side is required promptly, and it must state that any objection must be served no later than the 10th day after the date of notice.

An award modified here is still reviewable. The modified award remains subject to confirmation, vacatur, rehearing and modification under Sections 171.087 through 171.091.

The section exists because arbitrators finish faster than courts. A clerical error is corrected by the people who wrote the award, in weeks, without a judge.