Rule 4 - Assignment of Arbitrators(a)Appointment. The court shall appoint an arbitrator in the following manner: (1) The court shall rotate through the list for their district, set forth in subsection Arb. Rule 3(a), of available qualified arbitrators and appoint the next eligible arbitrator from the list and notify the parties of the arbitrator selected.(2) Appointments shall be made without regard to race, gender, religious affiliation or political affiliation. The chief district court judge shall retain the discretion to depart in a specific case from a strict rotation when, in the judge's discretion, there is good cause shown.(b)Fees and Expenses. Arbitrators shall be paid the maximum allowable fee as set forth in N.C.G.S. § 7A-37.1(c1) after an award is filed with the court. The arbitrator shall make application with the court on the proper NCAOC form within thirty (30) days of the filing of the award. An arbitrator may be paid a reasonable fee not exceeding the maximum allowable fee for work on a case not resulting in a hearing upon the arbitrator's written application to and approval by the chief district court judge. This fee shall be shared by the parties as set forth by these rules.(c)Replacement of Arbitrator. Any party may move the chief district court judge of the district where the action is pending for an order removing the arbitrator from that case so long as the motion is file more than 7 days before the scheduled arbitration hearing. For good cause, such an order shall be entered. If an arbitrator is removed, recused, unable or unwilling to serve, a replacement shall be appointed by the court from the list of arbitrators in accordance with Arb. Rule 4(a).Amended effective 12/23/2020. COMMENT
The court shall regularly use all arbitrators on the court's list as established in Arb. Rule 4(a). In counties or districts where arbitrators are assigned for multiple cases in a day, the court shall rotate through the list and appoint the next available arbitrator on the list for each day, rather than appointing a different arbitrator for each case. Under Arb. Rule 4(a)(2), consideration should be given to distance of travel and availability of arbitrators.
In accordance with Arb. Rule 4(b), filing of the award is the final act at which payment should be requested, closing the matter for the arbitrator. The arbitrator should make the award when the hearing is concluded. Hearings must be brief and expedited so that an arbitrator can hear at least three per day. See Arb. Rule 6(q).
Payments authorized by Arb. Rule 4(b) are made subject to court approval to ensure conservation and judicial monitoring of the use of funds available for the program. Arbitrators shall not be paid a fee for continued hearings.
An agreement by all parties to remove an arbitrator may constitute good cause under Arb. Rule 4(c).
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