Consumer Arbitration Agreements: R-28. Interpreters
If a party wants an interpreter present for any part of the process, that party must make arrangements directly with the interpreter and shall pay for the costs of the service.
If a party wants an interpreter present for any part of the process, that party must make arrangements directly with the interpreter and shall pay for the costs of the service.
Disputes may be resolved by submission of documents and without in-person or telephonic hearings. For cases being decided by the submission of documents only, the Procedures for the Resolution of Disputes through Document Submission (found at the end of these Rules) shall supplement these Rules. These Procedures will apply where no disclosed claims or counterclaims exceed $25,000 (see R-1(g)), unless any party requests an in-person or telephonic hearing or the arbitrator decides that a hearing is necessary.
The arbitrator and the AAA will keep information about the arbitration private except to the extent that a law provides that such information shall be shared or made public. The parties and their representatives in the arbitration are entitled to attend the hearings. The arbitrator will determine any disputes over whether a non-party may attend the hearing.
Before starting the hearing, each arbitrator may take an oath of office and, if required by law, shall do so. If the arbitrator determines that witnesses shall testify under oath, then the arbitrator will direct the oath be given by a duly-qualified person.
(a) The claimant must present evidence to support its claim. The respondent must then present evidence to support its defense. Witnesses for each party also must answer questions from the arbitrator and the opposing party. The arbitrator may change this procedure, as long as each party has the right to be heard and is given a fair opportunity to present its case.
If the consumer and business do not have an arbitration agreement or their arbitration agreement does not name the AAA, the parties may agree to have the AAA arbitrate their dispute. To start the arbitration, the parties must send the AAA a submission agreement, which is an agreement to arbitrate their case with the AAA, signed by the consumer and the business (email communications between all parties to a dispute reflecting an agreement to arbitrate also is acceptable). The submission agreement must
As a not-for-profit organization, the AAA charges fees to compensate it for the cost of providing administrative services. The fee schedule in effect when the case is filed shall apply for all fees charged during the administration of the case. The AAA may, in the event of the consumer’s extreme hardship, defer or reduce the consumer’s administrative fees.
AAA fees shall be paid in accordance with the Costs of Arbitration section found at the end of these Rules.
(a) Arbitrators serving under these Rules shall be compensated at a rate established by the AAA.
(b) Any arrangement for the compensation of an arbitrator shall be made through the AAA and not directly between the parties and the arbitrator.
(c) Arbitrator compensation shall be paid in accordance with the Costs of Arbitration section found at the end of these Rules.
The AAA may require the parties to deposit in advance of any hearings such sums of money as it decides are necessary to cover the expense of the arbitration, including the arbitrator’s fee, and shall render an accounting to the parties and return any unused money at the conclusion of the case.
Unless otherwise agreed by the parties or as provided under applicable law, the expenses of witnesses for either side shall be borne by the party producing such witnesses.
All expenses of the arbitrator, including required travel and other expenses, and any AAA expenses, as well as the costs relating to proof and witnesses produced at the direction of the arbitrator, shall be borne in accordance with the Costs of Arbitration section found at the end of these Rules.
Once a Demand has been filed, any new claims or counterclaims, or changes to the claim or counterclaim, must be made in writing and sent to the AAA. The party making the new or different claim or counterclaim shall send a copy to the opposing party. As with the original Demand or counterclaim, a party shall have 14 calendar days from the date the AAA notifies the parties it received the new or different claim or counterclaim to file an answering statement with the AAA.
If a party’s claim is within the jurisdiction of a small claims court, either party may choose to take the claim to that court instead of arbitration as follows:
(a) The parties may take their claims to small claims court without first filing with the AAA.
At the request of any party or if the AAA should so decide, the AAA may have a telephone conference with the parties and/or their representatives. The conference may address issues such as arbitrator selection, the possibility of a mediated settlement, exchange of information before the hearing, timing of the hearing, the type of hearing that will be held, and other administrative matters.
If an in-person hearing is to be held and if the parties do not agree to the locale where the hearing is to be held, the AAA initially will determine the locale of the arbitration. If a party does not agree with the AAA’s decision, that party can ask the arbitrator, once appointed, to make a final determination. The locale determination will be made after considering the positions of the parties, the circumstances of the parties and the dispute, and the Consumer Due Process Protocol.
Beginning September 1, 2014, a business that provides for or intends to provide for these Rules or another set of AAA Rules in a consumer contract (as defined in R-1) should
1. notify the AAA of the existence of such a consumer contract or of its intention to do so at least 30 days before the planned effective date of the contract.
2. provide the AAA a copy of the arbitration agreement.
(a) Any award shall be in writing and executed in the form and manner required by law.
(b) The award shall provide the concise written reasons for the decision unless the parties all agree otherwise. Any disagreements over the form of the award shall be decided by the arbitrator.
(a) The arbitrator may grant any remedy, relief, or outcome that the parties could have received in court, including awards of attorney’s fees and costs, in accordance with the law(s) that applies to the case.
If the parties settle their dispute at any point during the arbitration and at the parties’ request, the arbitrator may lay out the terms of the settlement in a “consent award” (an award drafted and signed by the arbitrator that reflects the settlement terms of the parties). A consent award must include a division of the arbitration costs, including administrative fees and expenses as well as arbitrator fees and expenses. Consent awards will not be made available to the public per Rule 43(c) unless the parties agree otherwise.
Parties shall accept as notice and delivery of the award the placing of the award or a true copy thereof in the mail addressed to the parties or their representatives at the last known addresses, personal or electronic service of the award, or the filing of the award in any other manner that is permitted by law.
(a) Within 20 days after the award is transmitted, any party, upon notice to the opposing parties, may contact the AAA and request that the arbitrator correct any clerical, typographical, or mathematical errors in the award. The arbitrator has no power to re-determine the merits of any claim already decided.
The AAA shall give a party certified copies of any records in the AAA’s possession that may be required in judicial proceedings relating to the arbitration, except for records determined by the AAA to be privileged or confidential. The party will have to pay a fee for this service.
(a) No court or judicial proceeding by a party relating to the subject matter of the arbitration shall be deemed a waiver of the party’s right to arbitrate.
(b) Neither the AAA nor any arbitrator in a proceeding under these Rules is a necessary or proper party in judicial proceedings relating to the arbitration.
If a party knows that any of these Rules have not been followed, it must object in writing before proceeding with arbitration or it will lose its right to object that the rule has not been followed.
The parties may agree to change any period of time provided for in the Rules, except that any such modification that negatively affects the efficient resolution of the dispute is subject to review and approval by the arbitrator. The AAA or the arbitrator may for good cause extend any period of time in these Rules, except as set forth in R-42. The AAA will notify the parties of any extension.
(a) Any papers or notices necessary for the initiation or continuation of an arbitration under these Rules, or for the entry of judgment on any award made under these Rules, may be served on a party by mail or email addressed to the party or its representative at the last-known address or by personal service, in or outside the state where the arbitration is to be held, provided that reasonable opportunity to be heard with regard to the dispute is or has been granted to the party.