(a) Before First Hearing Session Begins
Before the first hearing session begins, the Director may remove an arbitrator for conflict of interest or bias, either upon request of a party or on the Director's own initiative.
(1) The Director will grant a party's request to remove an arbitrator if it is reasonable to infer, based on information known at the time of the request,
For disputes involving statutory employment discrimination claims, see Rule 13802.
(a) Lists Generated in Disputes Between Members
(1) If the panel consists of one arbitrator, the list selection algorithm will generate a list of 10 non-public arbitrators from the FINRA non-public chairperson roster.
(2) If the panel consists of three non-public arbitrators, the list selection algorithm will
(a) Respondent(s) must serve each other party with the following documents within 45 days of receipt of the statement of claim:
(1) Signed and dated Submission Agreement; and
(2) An answer specifying the relevant facts and available defenses to the statement of claim.
The respondent may include any additional documents supporting the answer to the statement of claim. Parties that fail to
(a) Before Panel Appointment
Except as provided in paragraph (c), a party may amend a pleading at any time before the panel has been appointed. Panel appointment occurs when the Director sends notice to the parties of the names of the arbitrators on the panel.
(1) To amend a statement of claim that has been filed but not yet served by the Director, the claimant must file the amended
(a) After the panel is appointed, the Director will schedule an Initial Prehearing Conference before the panel, except as provided in paragraph (c) of this rule.
(b) The Initial Prehearing Conference will generally be held by telephone. Unless the parties agree otherwise, the Director must notify each party of the time and place of the Initial Prehearing Conference at least 20 days before
(a) A prehearing conference may be scheduled upon the joint request of the parties or at the discretion of the Director. The Director will set the time and place of the prehearing conference and appoint a person to preside.
(b) At a party's request, or at the discretion of the panel, the panel may schedule one or more additional prehearing conferences regarding any outstanding
(a) Party Portal
(1) Parties must use the Party Portal to file initial statements of claim and to file and serve pleadings and any other documents on the Director or any other party except as provided in paragraph (a)(2). The Director may exercise authority to permit the use of other means of filing or service in the case of an extended Party Portal outage or in other extraordinary
(a) Motions to Dismiss Prior to Conclusion of Case in Chief
(1) Motions to dismiss a claim prior to the conclusion of a party's case in chief are discouraged in arbitration.
(2) Motions under this rule must be made in writing, and must be filed separately from the answer, and only after the answer is filed.
(3) Unless the parties agree or the panel determines otherwise,
(a) Motions
(1) A party may make motions in writing, or orally during any hearing session. Before making a motion, a party must make an effort to resolve the matter that is the subject of the motion with the other parties. Every motion, whether written or oral, must include a description of the efforts made by the moving party to resolve the matter before making the motion.
(2) Written
Industry Governor (Small Firm Representative)President & Chief Compliance Officer, M.E. Allison & Co., Inc.Governor Since 2019Committees: Audit & Risk Committee, Regulatory Oversight CommitteeProfessional ExperiencePresident & Chief Compliance Officer, M.E. Allison & Co., Inc. (2022 – present)Chief Compliance Officer, M.E. Allison & Co
