Originally from Securities Arbitration: Practice and Forms - Fourth Edition – Preview Page

SCOPE NOTE 

The basic function of an arbitration hearing is to give the parties an opportunity to present evidence and arguments, and to challenge the evidence and arguments presented by their adversaries. Although such hearings are similar in many fundamental respects to more formal judicial or administrative hearings, there are also significant differences. Among the most important of these differences is greater procedural flexibility and greater receptiveness to evidence that might not be admissible under formal rules of evidence. This chapter describes these similarities and differences, and while it is not intended as a discussion of techniques, it provides some suggestions concerning the presentation of a party’s case in an arbitration hearing. 

Section 8.01 provides general background concerning arbitration hearings, and Section 8.02 describes two situations in which a hearing might not be held: when the parties agree to waive a hearing and when a claimant elects to proceed under the “simplified arbitration” procedures authorized by some arbitration codes. Section 8.03 explores the consequences of a party’s failure to appear at an arbitration hearing after due notice. 

Section 8.04 deals with the question of who may attend an arbitration hearing, including the related question of when it is  appropriate for an arbitrator to sequester witnesses (i.e., to exclude them from the hearing room while other witnesses are testifying). Section 8.05 describes the procedures for preserving a record of the hearing, and Section 8.06 deals with the burden of proof as it is applied in arbitration. 

Sections 8.07, 8.08, and 8.09 describe in sequence each stage of the hearing process, from preliminary proceedings through opening statements, the presentation of evidence, closing statements, and certain subsequent proceedings.