Opinion ID: 889038
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: selection of arbitrators

Text: 6.1 The panel having jurisdiction over a dispute shall be the panel appointed for the judicial district in which the attorney to the dispute maintains his or her primary law office, unless: (a) the parties agree that the matter should be referred to a statewide panel or, (b) the State Bar determines there are an insufficient number of qualified arbitrators available in the appropriate judicial district, in which case the State Bar may appoint such additional arbitrators as may be required from an adjacent judicial district or from the statewide panel, or (c) the attorney does not maintain an office in Montana, in which case, the jurisdiction shall be the one in which the Client resides or has its primary office, or (d) if none of the above apply, the State Bar will determine which jurisdiction(s) the arbitrators will come from, taking into account availability of arbitrators and other considerations. 6.2 The State Bar shall mail to each party a numbered list of eligible arbitrators. The list will also contain two choices: Hearing Requested or Hearing Waived (see paragraphs 7.1 and 7.2). 6.3 Each party may eliminate one attorney and one lay person from the list and may request a hearing. Eliminations and requests for a hearing must be made in writing and filed with the State Bar electronically, by fax or by regular mail, within ten (10) days of receipt of the list. If either party wishes to eliminate more than two (2) persons from the list, they must send a written request within ten (10) days of receipt of the list, stating the reasons for the request. The State Bar will rule on such request. No party may disqualify more than three (3) arbitrators in any single dispute. The arbitration Board shall consist of the remaining three members having the lowest assigned numbers. Notice of the names of the Board members thus selected shall be given by the State Bar to the parties and to the selected arbitrators. 6.4 The State Bar will appoint a Chair. 6.5 A Board member may decline to act as an arbitrator in a particular dispute for good cause shown. 6.6 If a disqualified arbitrator is an attorney, the alternate arbitrator shall be the attorney on the list sent to the parties with the next lowest number. If the arbitrator disqualified is a lay person, the alternate shall be the lay person on the list sent to the parties with the next lowest number. The State Bar shall immediately advise the parties of the name of the alternate arbitrator to replace the disqualified arbitrator. If there are no alternates available from the initial list of proposed arbitrators submitted to the parties, the State Bar will submit a new numbered list of three (3) names of either all attorneys or all lay persons, whichever is to be 4 replaced. Within ten (10) days of receipt of the list, each party will cross off the name of one person and return the list to the State Bar. The alternate will be the person remaining on the list with the lowest number.