Share
(a) A written request for procedural review of the arbitration hearing procedures must be filed with the President within twenty (20) days after the award has been transmitted to the parties and be accompanied by a deposit in the sum of $_______ (not to exceed $500). The request for procedural review should cite the alleged procedural deficiencies or other irregularities the party believes constitute a deprivation of due process (e.g., fraud, coercion, bias, prejudice, evident partiality, etc.) on the part of Hearing Panel members or others acting on behalf of the Board. The request for procedural review shall be reviewed within ten (10) days of receipt of the request by the Board President or the President’s designee only for the purpose of determining whether the request states any legitimate basis for consideration by the Board of Directors. If determined to be insufficient, it shall be returned to the requester accompanied by an explanation and a request for additional detail to be received by the Board within ten (10) days of notice. This initial administrative review is not a decision on the merits of the request for procedural review but is intended only to ensure compliance with the requirement that the request cite the alleged procedural deficiency or irregularity on which the request is based and which will be presented to the Board of Directors for its consideration. All requests for procedural review received by the Board must be considered by the Board of Directors, and only the bases raised in the written request for procedural review may be raised during the review before the Directors. (Amended 11/15)
(b) When a request for procedural review (as originally filed if in proper form, or as originally filed if no amendment is submitted, or as amended even if still deemed to be lacking) is received, the Professional Standards Administrator shall within one (1) day of receipt of the request or within one (1) day of receipt of additional detail, if provided or the date that the period to provide additional detail has elapsed, send a copy to the other party, notify all parties of the time and place of the review by the Directors at least ten (10) days in advance (including challenge Forms #A-7 and #A-8, Part Thirteen of this Manual), and bring the matter before the Directors for review at their next regular meeting or at a special meeting called by the Professional Standards Administrator for that purpose, but not later than thirty (30) days after the date of receipt of the procedural review. The Professional Standards Administrator shall provide to the Directors, in advance, a copy of the request for procedural review or the amended request for procedural review, if any, and the President’s correspondence, if any. The Directors shall be advised that the information provided is confidential and not to be discussed with others at any time. (Revised 05/15)
(c) The request for procedural review may be heard by a panel of Directors appointed by the President for that purpose (or, alternatively, by the Board’s Executive Committee). Five (5) Directors or a quorum of the Board of Directors, whichever is less, shall constitute such panel, which shall act on behalf of the Board of Directors. The decision of the panel (or Executive Committee) shall be final and binding and shall not be subject to further review by the Board of Directors. (Revised 11/91)
(d) At the procedural review hearing, the party filing the request will have an opportunity to explain the bases on which the party is requesting that the award of the arbitrators be overturned. The Chairperson of the arbitration panel (or the Chairperson's designee) will have an opportunity to respond to the allegations. The other party shall have the opportunity to present to the Directors reasons why the arbitration Hearing Panel’s award should not be overturned. (Revised 5/09)
(e) The Board of Directors shall not hear an appeal with respect to the merits of an arbitration award, and shall not, on appeal, review such evidence offered with respect to the merits of that award, except as such evidence may bear upon a claim of deprivation of due process. The Directors shall render their decision within five (5) days from the date of the procedural review hearing. This decision may be to adopt the award of the arbitrators or to overturn the award based on a substantial procedural error in the arbitration hearing process that resulted in a denial of due process or on a determination that the member was otherwise deprived of due process. (Revised 05/15)
(f) If the Directors determine that a substantial procedural error occurred or a member was otherwise deprived of due process, the Directors shall invalidate the original arbitration award and direct that the matter be referred to the Professional Standards Committee for a hearing on the merits before a different Hearing Panel, or, alternatively, the Directors may release the parties from their obligation to arbitrate if the Directors conclude that the Board will be unable to impanel an impartial Hearing Panel.
(g) After all procedural remedies provided for in the Board’s procedures have been exhausted, a member is not precluded from asserting any legal rights to which he is entitled. Assertion of such legal rights in the courts does not violate Article 17 of the Code of Ethics. The exercise of such legal rights by a member would result in judicial review similar to that set forth in Part Ten, Section 56 of this Manual. Section 56 recommends that, in instances where a member fails to comply with an award, the award recipient seek judicial enforcement, which results in judicial review, and, absent any showing of deprivation of due process, the judicial review will generally affirm the award rendered through the arbitration process and will enable the recipient to have it enforced. (Revised 11/88)