Overextension of Arbitral Authority: Punitive Damages and Issues of Arbitrability—Raytheon Co. v. Automated Business Systems, Inc., 882 F.2d 6 (1st Cir. 1989)

Recently, commercial arbitrators\u27 authority to award a full spectrum of remedies has greatly increased. In Raytheon Co. v. Automated Business Systems, Inc., the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed an arbitral award of punitive damages. The court upheld the award despite the arbitrators\u27 failure to address a prehearing objection to the arbitrability of such sanctions. This Note concludes that courts should require arbitrators to resolve pre-hearing challenges to their authority and recommends that arbitrators interpret broadly-drafted arbitration clauses to encompass only traditional contract remedies