Can you appeal a temporary arbitration award in Utah family law cases? Funk v. Funk Explained

The Utah Court of Appeals recently clarified important jurisdictional limitations in Funk v. Funk, addressing when parties can appeal orders confirming arbitration awards in family law cases.

Background and Facts
Following their 2017 divorce, Carol and Samuel Funk both filed competing petitions to modify their divorce decree, with Carol seeking to relocate to California with sole custody and Samuel also seeking sole custody. The parties agreed to submit their disputes to arbitration, including a temporary decision about where one child would attend school during the pending proceedings. After the arbitrator ruled that the child should remain at his current school temporarily, the district court confirmed this temporary award. Carol then appealed this confirmation order.

Key Legal Issues
The central question was whether the Utah Court of Appeals had jurisdiction to hear an appeal from a district court order confirming a temporary arbitration award when other arbitration issues remained unresolved. Carol argued that the Uniform Family Law Arbitration Act allowed immediate appeals from orders “confirming or denying confirmation of an award.”

Court’s Analysis and Holding
The court applied principles of statutory interpretation to analyze the Act’s language. Notably, the Act uses different terminology in separate sections—”temporary awards” versus “awards”—leading the court to conclude these terms have distinct meanings. Under Utah Code § 81-15-123(1)(c), only orders confirming final “awards” are immediately appealable, not orders confirming “temporary awards.” Since the arbitrator’s decision was explicitly temporary and numerous issues remained for resolution, the confirmation order was not final and appealable.

Practice Implications
This decision reinforces that temporary arbitration awards in family law cases follow the same finality requirements as temporary court orders. Practitioners should carefully distinguish between final arbitration awards that resolve all submitted issues and temporary awards that address only interim matters. The court dismissed the appeal without prejudice, allowing Carol to appeal after a final order is entered resolving all arbitration issues.