Summary

Mexico seeks to vacate an arbitration award resolving an investment dispute between Mexico and Lion Mexico Consolidated, a Canadian investor. Applying provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement, a panel of arbitrators ordered Mexico to pay Lion $47 million in compensation for the country's failure to protect the company's investments in real estate projects in Mexico. Mexico petitioned our district court to vacate the arbitral award on the grounds that the arbitrators exceeded their powers and acted in manifest disregard of the law. The district court held the arbitrators acted within their authority and with appropriate regard for the law, so denied Mexico's petition and granted the investor's cross-petition for confirmation of the award. Mexico appeals. Separately, Héctor Cárdenas Curiel, a Mexican businessman involved in the events that gave rise to the arbitration, moved to intervene in the district court proceedings. The district court denied intervention, and Cárdenas appeals. We affirm in full.