Rule 13.100.Authority of Arbitrators

The authority is real, and it starts late. An arbitrator may exercise these powers only after the case is assigned to a specific arbitrator and any disputes over the assignment have been settled. Before that, nobody is holding the gavel.

The list itself covers the mechanics of running a hearing. The arbitrator decides procedural issues arising before or during the hearing, invites trial briefs on reasonable notice, examines a site or object after notice to the parties, issues subpoenas that are enforceable in the manner ORS 36.675 describes, administers oaths or affirmations, rules on the admissibility of evidence under these rules, determines the facts, applies the law, and makes an award. The arbitrator also sets the place, time, and procedure for presenting a motion, including a motion for Summary Award, which the rule identifies as the arbitration counterpart of summary judgment under the ORCP.

Some questions are pulled out of the arbitrator's hands. Issues relating to arbitrability and to the qualification of an arbitrator are not for the arbitrator to decide. The court may entertain a challenge to an arbitrator's qualification, but only on grounds that could not be discovered before the arbitrator was assigned to the case.

The closing powers give the rules teeth. The arbitrator may require a party, the attorney advising that party, or both to pay the reasonable expenses, including attorney fees, caused by a failure to obey an order of the arbitrator. And the arbitrator may award attorney fees where these rules, a contract, or the law authorize them.