About this Information
This information has been prepared by the Securities Industry Conference on Arbitration (SICA), a group composed of representatives of various self-regulatory organizations, the Securities Industry Association, and public members. SICA established a uniform system for the resolution of disputes involving investors and broker/dealers, which has been adopted by each of the self-regulatory organizations. |
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How Are the Parties Notified of Decisions?
When the arbitrators have reached their decision and have signed an
award, copies will be mailed to the parties. The award shall be in
writing and signed by a majority of the arbitrators. The award may be
entered by the prevailing party as a judgment in any court of competent
jurisdiction.
Arbitrators shall endeavor to render an award within 30 business days
from the date the record is closed. The Director of Arbitration shall
endeavor to serve a copy of the award: (i) by registered or certified
mail upon all parties, or their counsel; or (ii) by personally serving
the award upon the parties; or (iii) by filing or delivering the award
as authorized by law.
The award will contain the names of the parties, the names of counsel,
if any, the dates the claim was filed and the award was rendered, the
number and dates of the hearing sessions, the location of the hearings,
a summary of the issues including the type(s) of any security or
product in controversy, the damages and other relief requested, the
damages and other relief awarded, a statement of any other issues
resolved, the names of the arbitrators, and the signatures of the
arbitrators concurring in the award. In addition, all awards must be
paid within 30 days of receipt unless a motion to vacate has been filed
in court. Awards will also bear interest if they are not paid within
thirty days of receipt, if the award is the subject of a motion to
vacate that is denied or as specified by the arbitrators.
The awards will be made publicly available. Arbitrators are not
required to write opinions or provide reasons for the award. A party,
however, may request an opinion. This request should be made no later
than the hearing date. Some sponsoring organizations delete from the
public version of awards information that identifies either the
arbitrators or the parties. The decision of the arbitrators is final;
that is, the decision is subject to review by a court only on a very
limited basis.
Important: It should be kept in mind that the arbitrators' decision
will be based solely and exclusively on the documents and related
material provided by the parties to a dispute. In the case of a
hearing, the decision will be based on both the documents and testimony
presented at the hearing. It is therefore important that a party's case
be carefully and thoroughly prepared. As noted, this may be done either
with or without the assistance of counsel. Such preparation will ensure
that all relevant facts and evidence will be presented by the parties
and, thus, considered by the arbitrators. Arbitrators are not allowed
to reconsider a decision because new evidence has been found after the
award was rendered.
In addition, it is the responsibility of the parties to submit briefs
for any novel theories of recovery and/or requests for special damages.
In some cases, arbitrators may require even parties without lawyers to
support their claims by reference to the relevant law. |