Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, where, without showing sufficient cause, the claimant fails to communicate his or her statement of claim in accordance with Sections 1297.231 and 1297.232, the arbitral tribunal shall terminate the proceedings.
§ 1297.251.Failure of Claimant to Communicate Statement of Claim
Title 9.3. Arbitration and Conciliation of International Commercial Disputes · Chapter 5. Manner and Conduct of Arbitration · Article 8. Default of a Party · Enacted 1988 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1297.251 requires the arbitral tribunal, unless the parties agreed otherwise, to terminate the proceedings if the claimant fails without sufficient cause to submit its statement of claim as Sections 1297.231 and 1297.232 require.
Full Text of § 1297.251
Plain-English Summary
A claimant who won't even state the claim leaves the tribunal with nothing to decide, and this section treats that failure as fatal to the case. Unless the parties have agreed otherwise, if the claimant fails, without showing sufficient cause, to communicate the statement of claim required by Sections 1297.231 and 1297.232, the tribunal must terminate the proceedings.
The result is mandatory, not discretionary -- the tribunal doesn't weigh whether to continue anyway; it terminates. The one safety valve is sufficient cause: a claimant with a real excuse for the delay, illness, an unavoidable conflict, or something comparable, isn't automatically shut out. But a claimant who lets the deadline pass without good reason loses the arbitration by default, in sharp contrast to the more forgiving treatment a defaulting respondent gets under the next section.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if the claimant never files its statement of claim?
Unless the parties agreed otherwise, the tribunal terminates the proceedings, provided the claimant lacks sufficient cause for the failure.
Is termination automatic, or does the tribunal have discretion?
Termination is the required result once the tribunal finds no sufficient cause for the claimant's failure; the section doesn't leave the tribunal room to continue anyway.
What if the claimant has a good reason for the delay?
Sufficient cause excuses the failure, meaning the strict termination rule only applies where the claimant lacks a legitimate excuse.
Why does a defaulting claimant get harsher treatment than a defaulting respondent?
Because the claimant's statement of claim is what defines the dispute in the first place; without it, the tribunal has nothing to adjudicate, unlike a missing statement of defense under Section 1297.252, where the claim itself is already on record.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1988, Ch. 23, Sec. 1. Effective March 7, 1988.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: claimant fails to file statement of claimtermination of arbitration for claimant default