A. If the parties to an agreement to arbitrate agree on a method for appointing an arbitrator, that method must be followed, unless the method fails. If the parties have not agreed on a method, the agreed method fails, or an arbitrator appointed fails or is unable to act and a successor has not been appointed, the court, on motion of a party to the arbitration proceeding, shall appoint the arbitrator. An arbitrator so appointed has all the powers of an arbitrator designated in the agreement to arbitrate or appointed pursuant to the agreed method.
§ 1862.Agreement to Method
Chapter 38B: Uniform Arbitration Act · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified August 3, 2026
In one sentenceRequires courts to follow the parties' agreed method for appointing an arbitrator unless it fails, empowers the court to appoint one when it does, and bars anyone with a known conflict of interest from serving as a required-neutral arbitrator.
Full Text of § 1862
B. An individual who has a known, direct, and material interest in the outcome of the arbitration proceeding or a known, existing, and substantial relationship with a party shall not serve as an arbitrator required by an agreement to be neutral.
Amendment History
Added by Laws 2005, SB 873, c. 364, §12, eff. 1/1/2006.
Plain-English Summary
Section 1862 governs how an arbitrator gets picked. If the parties agreed on a method for appointing one, that method controls, unless it fails. If the parties never agreed on a method, the agreed method fails, or an appointed arbitrator fails or can't act and no successor has been named, the court appoints the arbitrator on a party's motion. A court-appointed arbitrator has exactly the same powers as one chosen by agreement or through the agreed method.
Subsection B protects the neutrality the parties bargained for. An individual with a known, direct, and material interest in how the arbitration comes out, or a known, existing, and substantial relationship with a party, can't serve as an arbitrator when the agreement requires that arbitrator to be neutral.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if the parties can't agree on how to pick an arbitrator?
The court appoints the arbitrator on a party's motion, whenever the parties haven't agreed on a method, their agreed method fails, or an appointed arbitrator fails or is unable to act without a successor being named.
Does a court-appointed arbitrator have less authority than one the parties chose?
No. Section 1862(A) gives a court-appointed arbitrator all the same powers as one designated in the agreement or appointed through the parties' agreed method.
Can someone with a conflict of interest serve as a neutral arbitrator?
No. Subsection B bars anyone with a known, direct, and material interest in the outcome, or a known, existing, and substantial relationship with a party, from serving where the agreement calls for a neutral arbitrator.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature.
Last verified August 3, 2026.
· Official source
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